Two Women in One

Bahiah Shaheen is an 18-year-old medical student and daughter of a prominent Egyptian public official. She finds the male students in her class rough, coarse and alien. Her father, too, seems to belong to a race apart, and the young woman has long ceased to be surprised at not being her real self in his presence. But what, she wonders, is this real self? One day, as she is looking at a painting, a stranger comes up and engages her in conversation. This proves to be the beginning of Bahiah’s road to self-discovery and the start of her realization that one can find fulfilment in life. Two Women in One is also the story of countless women in the Third World, their hopes and ambitions, and their quest for emancipation and dignity.