Born and raised in Egypt, I was brought up to be a good middle class Egyptian girl; but somehow being good did not suit my notions. Deep down I have rejected the heavy heritage of traditions and norms that made no sense to my inquisitive mind. I could not understand why girls were killed, committed suicide, or lived in eternal shame when they lost their virginity. I failed to comprehend why such a rule applied only to girls and their male counterparts were spared. After my grandmother passed away, we stopped celebrating Christmas, New Year's Eve, Halloween, and Thanksgiving ... does being a Muslim forbid me from all my childhood memories? Why do I have to get married? Why can't I date? Why do men cheat? Why do I have to accept it? Why? Why? Why? And many more unanswered questions. I have come a long way from the scared little girl that I once was ... I found my passion in writing, my voice in teaching & training, and my strength in marketing ... I took off my mask ... and I decided to speak up loudly ... as loud as loud could ever be. I started out using an alias - Jennifer Anderson. An American girl who lives in Egypt and writes a monthly column for (In)Sight Magazine. In 2007, Jennifer Anderson came out as Marwa Rakha - I was no longer scared.
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