Such a Beautiful Voice is Sayeda's

Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself Coco Chanel

The study serves as a systematic and comprehensive introduction for
El Guindi's awareness as an Arab American playwright of the problems of his
Arab world, especially his country Egypt. His intellectual preoccupations and
creative representations work together to present a detailed overview of how
the lives of Egyptian women in the selected plays is controlled by their outsider
and

oppressive

circumstances,

in

addition

how

they

react

to

these

circumstances inside and outside their countries. The intersection of politics

proper and gender politics in his plays is emphasized in his representation of
the position of women in Egyptian society, as is his challenge at contextualizing
the freedom of Egyptian women as part of the freedom of their society at large
from exploitive rule and the futile traditions of patriarchal beliefs.
According to the oppression that exist in the patriarchal cultures, some
women who live in these societies intent to resist their persecution by resorting
to illusionary worlds where they create imaginative characters, dialogues and
events that would satisfy their need to vent out their oppression. Others resort
to hysterical breakdowns that reflect their incapability of dealing with their
oppressive surroundings. In his plays, Yussef El Guinidi resists the injustice and
harshness in both the Egyptian and American societies that impose its
domineering notions on the lives on its women. At the same time, he elucidates
the effects of such biased traditions on the awareness and behaviors of those
women.
Many Arab American playwrights have found in media a medium in
which they could represent the different methods of resisting the stereotypical
images that are formed in the mindsets of their people due to practicing biased
notions towards their Arab women. Hence, Arab American Theater represents
as powerful mode of resistance that can serve as a motivation to their Arab
women to resist the systematic restrictions that oblige them to be silenced. In
his plays, El Guindi has promoted resistance against his society's beliefs with its
prejudice stereotypical representations of Arab women. He calls for liberating
the Arab women from the constraints of the obstinacy of beliefs and standards,

inspiring them to have a self-governing identity of their own will, shattering the
confines of marginalizing their voices.
The Arab American dramatist, Yussef El Guindi has a postcolonial origin
where women in his Egyptian society experience patriarchal beliefs. Through his
plays, he is in a constant search for various resistance techniques to encourage
Egyptian women to achieve their freedom. Women in his society go through
resistance struggles against the stereotypical representations of them asking
for liberation of their identities as well as self-assertions. He persuades Arab
women to resist their status que with its oppressive circumstance in lieu of
giving up to the beliefs of their societies. The stereotypical representations of
women is aim by El Guindi to be crushed through exploding the repressed
silence of their voices. Fantasies, illusions and fragmented images of their
surrounding are to reflect the detachment that those women afford as a result
of their suffering.
El Guindi portrays his play Such a Beautiful Voice is Sayeda's where
marginalized housewife is to be the center in which the whole events revolve
around. El Guindi 's voice is revealed through the portrayal of his characters in
which he challenges the silence forced on his female protagonist's voice
Sayeda. He wants his audience to understand the dynamics of her cultural
notions. So, El Guindi has existed in his play standing behind his female
character that he has chosen as his representative to question the taboos that
his society has designed for its women.
Such a Beautiful Voice is Sayeda has offered a picture of resistance to
be exhibited on the Arab American media in response to the Egyptian
patriarchal community. The play has discussed the struggle of an Egyptian
woman in her domestic world that has marginalized her personality, giving her
no chance to express herself. This play tackles means of oppression in the
Egyptian society that have constructed stereotypical representations of
Egyptian women and how it is reflected through the disturbed husband and wife
relationship that is based on domination from the husband's behalf. Women in
the Egyptian society are associated with specific stereotypical representations

that they are not allowed to transcend as well as stifling their liberation of their
identities and voices. Most importantly, those who dare to behave outside these
representations are rejected and accused of madness
Our protagonist Sayeda has created an illusionary world where her
voice and feelings are allowed to be spoken and heard.