Strength and Motherhood

Samson

Exodus 15:2New International Version (NIV)

² “The Lord is my strength and my defense^[a];
    he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

 

An Egyptian woman who spent more than four decades disguising herself as a man to provide for her family was recently awarded the country's highest award for motherhood.

Sisa Abu Daooh, 64, has been dressing like a man for 43 years. Her husband died in the early 1970s and she and her daughter quickly became destitute, so she took to disguising herself in clothing of the opposite sex for better employment opportunities.



Sis Abu Daooh

According to the World Economic Forum, at the time of her husband's death, less than 30 percent of women held jobs - compared to almost 80 percent of men.

Ms. Daooh spent seven years working in construction and other manual labor, earning less than a dollar a day, The New York Times reported. She eventually found less physically demanding work.