On the long complicated process of relationship approval in the Arab Societies

Last Thursday, I was enlightened by the phenomenon of Erayet al Fat-ha, the reading of the opening. This is a step that you have to take in order to hang around your boyfriend without being perceived like a total slut in front of your family, if you had a typical egyptian family, that is.
Erayet al Fatha, is like a pre-engagement. It is basically when two families gathers up in order to acknowledge that their son and daughter are going out and that they might decide to get married later on. This phenomenon usually takes place in houses where religion is put first.

So what happens in an Erayet-Fatha?

Nothing much, you and your boyfriend/ girlfriend invite your family members, preferably the males only, because let’s face it in this society; the males opinion is a thousand times more valuable than that of the female’s. Then, you all just sit down, all dressed up and read the first verse in the Quraan, the same one that Muslims read in all their famous five prayers.

But hey, don’t get too excited because according to religion you still can’t go out together unless you have someone with you, to watch your every move, you know in case you decide to do something *wink**wink.* As the prophet "Whenever a man is alone with a woman the Devil makes a third." and who wants a devil being his third, and still if you are a girl and you are alone with a man in this society, you are the devil in disguise.