Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause

Things I remember about being 12...

Faded Glory jeans

A terrible hair cut that took 2 years to grow out

My parents got divorced

Starting junior high school

Being kissed for the first time

Being pressured to have sex for the first time

Starting my period 

Starting a friendship that became a sisterhood that has lasted 41 years

Wanting to be seen...

In this episode of the Black Girl's Guide to Surviving Menopause, I was able to connect my inner 12 year old with the inner 12 year old of feminist writer, activist and journalist Mona Eltahawy and share our journeys around identity, healing, reclamation, power, voice and story. 

Mona Eltahawy is an Egyptian award-winning columnist and international public speaker on Arab and Muslim issues and global feminism.  She is the author of two books "Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution," released April 2015, and "The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls" released in 2019. Mona was born on Aug. 1, 1967 in Port Said, Egypt and has lived in the U.K, Saudi Arabia and Israel. In November 2011, Egyptian riot police beat her, breaking her left arm and right hand, and sexually assaulted her and she was detained for 12 hours by the Interior Ministry and Military Intelligence. It was during that time that the Eqyptian Goddess Sekhmet revealed herself to Mona and became a part of her healing journey and further commitment to the destruction of patriarchy. Sekhmet is sun Goddess of war, destruction, plagues and healing. She has the head of a lion which is so appropriate given that Mona was born under the sign of Leo. 

Mona's mission in life is to destroy the patriarchy! She is known for her ubiquitous  “Fuck the patriarchy”, feminist writings and tenacious spirit. Enjoy! 

Listener Advisory Note: There is are parts of Mona's story that share her experience of being sexually assaulted by the Egyptian police. 

Find out more ways to support Mona's work Here  

Full Link: https://www.patreon.com/join/monaeltahawy

Egypt's #Metoo movement Article

Full Link: https://msmagazine.com/2020/08/02/finally-the-feminist-revolution-has-begun-egypts-metoo-moment/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare