Egypt has strict gender segregation in many places. There are always separate lines for security checks at the airport. Public transport often has segregated zones. When you deal with the service sector, it's rare for a woman to interact with customers. When you walk around the streets and sit in cafés, you often see guys hanging out with a cup of coffee or a hookah. I haven't noticed women doing the same.

That's what tourists see. In everyday life, there are bigger problems. In rural areas, girls are often pulled out of school around 12-14 years old, sometimes even earlier, to minimize interaction with boys, despite separate schooling. Female genital mutilation and honor killings are practiced, and some things are scary even to read about. All of this is changing, but not very quickly. Let's hope the changes will accelerate.

Yet despite such inequality, there are women who are revered. Ask any Egyptian about Umm Kulthum, and even if he doesn't adore her, he'll probably speak about her with great respect. She's called the fourth pyramid of Egypt. Over four million (!) people attended her funeral in 1975. It's the largest gathering of people in the country's entire history. Today, you occasionally see graffiti with the singer on the streets, and in Cairo there's a museum dedicated to her—nothing particularly special, but interesting for immersing yourself in the culture. Next to the museum stands a nilometer, and together they're worth a visit.

Her songs are very specific to our ear, but Arabs love them. You can listen to One Thousand and One Nights yourself.