“`Segn el-Nessa”: From prison drama to social commentary

Abstract

Released during the month of Ramadan in 2014 to public and critical acclaim, the TV show `Segn el-Nessa (“Women’s prison”) tries to develop a new way of seeing female criminals in Egypt. If the character of the mischievious and deviant criminal woman is deeply rooted within the country’s popular culture, the show aims to question this stereotype by developing nuanced characters for the inmates. Abandoning the didactic aspect of more ancient Egyptian TV shows, as well as any kind of spectacular or pathos, the series aims, through the development of such characters, to deeply articulate gender and socio economical issues. In this way, it offers a subtle and strong comment on social violence in Egypt during the 2000s, paradoxically portraying the prison as a place where characters can feel free.