We were brainstorming causes to adopt for the Gouna International Spinning Marathon and decided to reflect on how our culture views women through looking at our amthal (proverbs); and man, were we in for a not-so-pleasant surprise.

Apparently women are seen as a catastrophe, disgrace, nothing but a burden, untrustworthy, cunning and sly, and of course nothing without a man.

We ditched sexual harassment, violence, and every other cause we thought of and decided instead to focus on our good old amthal, a.k.a balawy (catastrophes) because we believe this attitude towards women is the root of all evil.

Follow the hashtag #Balawy and share whatever pearls of wisdom about women you came across being said about women wherever you live. E-mail us on Nelsayed@19TwentyThree, comment on this article or tag @19TwentyThree on Facebook, Instagram, or @19TwentyThreeME on Twitter.