Asma’a Directed by Amr Salama

The mother had to make a sacrifice to raise her daughter, and what makes it worse, just when the cost of living is very high in the city, she is fired illegally from her job because she carries the HIV virus. The film highlights and emphasizes the corruption of the health care system in Egypt, and the harassment facing women every single day on the streets. One scene has stuck in my mind: when Asma’a was in the hospital just seconds before the surgery, the doctors stop after she declares that she has AIDS. She is thrown out of the hospital and rejected by every other hospital; this act stresses the violation of human rights.

As the director Amr Salama said: “The hidden connection between the film and current events that are happening in Egypt now is silence: we all are afraid of the society, and to show our power, that is a big problem in Egyptian society. It’s the same thing happening to the character in the film when she decides to stand up and show her power; the post-production of the film finished one day before the revolution started.”

By Ali Shujaa Al Afeefi