Women steal and men do not work .. Gypsies life in Egypt

Article by: Farah Alaa Saleh 20060572

Gypsies are the most common people on earth, with no roots other than their customs and traditions. It is known that they are separate tribes who gathered on the shores of the Hindus and left for the state of India and from there to Asia Minor, and there they divided into groups that headed to different countries, and certainly one of them was Egypt.

The photo is from the youm7 newspaper

We conducted an interview with Issam Amer, a journalist at Al-Muntada newspaper, to know more information from him about the life of the gypsies.

Q1: What is the prevalence of gypsies in Egypt at the present time?

They live in scattered gatherings in the villages of the governorates, especially the villages of Tahwai in the Dakahlia Governorate and Kafr Al-Ghajar in the Sharkia Governorate, as well as in the Azbakeya area in Cairo.

Q2: What is the number of gypsies in Egypt approximately?

No one knows the exact number of gypsies in Egypt, since no one is able to count them because a large number of them fled to the outskirts of the villages in order not to pay taxes.

Q3: What are the strangest traditions of the gypsies?

Gypsies in their communities believe that a man’s work is shameful. That is why the woman only does the work and brings the money to the man who is waiting for her at home.

Q4: What are their most popular professions?

The gypsies were known in the past with the fishing profession and their knowledge of herbal medicine, and now with fortune-telling, singing and dancing on the birthdays, but the most famous profession for them is pickpocketing and theft.

Q5: How does the Egyptian society deal with the gypsies?

Until now, society is afraid of dealing with gypsies due to their strange traditions, and their hatred for some of their actions and behaviors, such as theft, for example, which I think will also continue in the future to a large extent.

Q6: Is it also that societies avoid them because there is no clear and sufficient information about them and their origins?

Yes, Until now, there are secrets about the gypsies that no one else knows, and it is expected that some of these secrets will never come out to the public. This is why people avoid mixing or dealing with them.