Factory Girl

Fatat el Masna (Factory Girl) by Mohamed Khan depicts a misunderstood segment of society: female Muslim factory workers in Egypt. The contemporary setting of the story allows the viewer to make real-life comparisons with their own notions of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and power. Social stratification is a core theme, but gender is a far more salient one in Khan's movie. Fatat el Masna is about individual women taking personal risks to alter gender norms. Yet ironically, Hiyam (Yasmin Raeis) operates within a stereotypically chauvinistic framework. She fantasizes about her boss in ways that are the antithesis of female self-empowerment, as if the film suggests that women in Egyptian society can only liberate themselves in their own minds. Their actual liberation remains a pipe dream. Seeds of hope are planted, however, as Hiyam remains true to her word and values. She does fall in love with her boss...
[ View Full Essay]