Alam Simsim: Egyptian Girl Power On A Meteoric Rise

Every time Sesame Workshop AVP regional director Robert Knezevic travels to Cairo, he asks the cab driver who picks him up at the airport whether he has heard of Alam Simsim, the Egyptian version of Sesame Street.

“They always know it!” says Knezevic. “Oftentimes a cab driver will tell you a Filfil story.”

Filfil is one of three characters developed especially for the Egyptian co-production between Sesame Workshop and Al Karma Edutainment, which in 2007 celebrated the tenth anniversary of its inception.

Knezevic says it always seems appropriate to him that cab drivers tell Filfil stories, because, he says, the character “was actually modeled after a Cairo cab driver.”

The small purple monster’s overriding characteristic is that he is a naturally helpful creature who truly believes that he knows exactly what you need and where you can get it. Filfil will even take you there. Knezevic explains that this is exactly what Cairo cab drivers do; they may take you an hour in the opposite direction but they are only trying to help you!

First Lady Suzanne Mubarak lends her support

It took a while after Alam Simsim’s 1997 inception and 2000 launch on Egyptian Television (ETV) for the show to become a pop culture fixture recognizable by Cairo’s cab drivers and children across Egypt. Knezevic credits First Lady Suzanne Mubarak’s endorsement for its jump into popularity. Mubarak, known for championing women’s and children’s rights, has long sought to improve Egyptian literacy rates and ensure educational equality for boys and girls.

“Suddenly there was a meteoric rise in the show’s popularity, perception, and credibility,” Knezevic says. “Within 18 months we were everywhere. Viewership went from 50 percent to 98 percent.”

Filfil, Nimnim, Khokha (Alam Simsim)

When the immensely popular Mubarak visited the Alam Simsim set in 2001, she sat down to talk with an intelligent four-year-old Muppet named Khokha about the importance of education. Curious Khokha, whose name means “peach” in Arabic, turned to the first lady and asked, “Is reading important, Mama Suzanne?” to which the first lady replied, “Very important, Khokha, because every book we read we learn something new. Besides, it’s also a lot of fun.”

This scene captures Alam Simsim’s strong focus on encouraging girls to pursue learning, which is a major initiative for the Egyptian government. Surveys have repeatedly shown a disparity between Egyptian men’s and women’s literacy rates; for example, a 2001 UNICEF study showed that 44 percent of Egyptian women were literate as compared to 67 percent of Egyptian men. With its focus on girls’ education, Alam Simsim places literacy segments into a larger context that highlights the contributions that women and girls make to Egyptian society.

The bright young female star of the show, Khokha, is a role model for girls who are setting out on their educational paths. She has been appearing daily on Egyptian television since 2000, and throughout North Africa and the Middle East on satellite since 2003. Khokha loves to imagine various professions that she will pursue when she’s older – and the confident young lady understands that she can be anything she chooses to be. Her potential career choices include police officer, doctor -- even an astronaut.

In one clip, Khokha sings about her curiosity for learning, saying that the people who know her all understand how much she likes to ask questions, and that she has a real thirst for knowledge. She goes on to say that she would like to grow up and read everything there is to read. She knows this will mean she has a million more questions, and she looks forward to reading a lot of wonderful books.

Shifting attitudes about girls’ education and gender roles

Energetic, inspiring Khokha is a hit with girls and boys alike, as they all see a little bit of themselves in her. A little girl called Fatma, who lives in Cairo and is the daughter of a doorman, already knows at the age of seven that she wants to be a lawyer when she grows up. Her inspiration comes from Khokha who is a “girl like me.”

Asked if she knows what’s involved in becoming a lawyer, Fatma replies confidently that she’ll “figure it out,” but staying in school and going to college is a big part of it.

“Khokha always talks about going to school and about how great it is,” Fatma says.

The mother of three young girls explains why her children respond so well to the energetic Muppet.

“They like Khokha because she is bright and the most clever one of them. So everyone wants her as an example and wants to be bright and clever and quick like her,” the Egyptian mother says.

In creating Alam Simsim, Sesame Workshop and Al Karma Edutainment followed five guiding principles in their quest to increase girls’ learning. The first of these is that girls and boys have equal rights and responsibilities. Second, both boys and girls should be proud of their talents and accomplishments and should be encouraged to experience and express feelings of self-worth, pride, and confidence in their abilities. The third guiding principle is that both boys and girls have feelings and there aren’t gender-specific ways to express them – that is, it’s okay for boys and girls to cry when they’re feeling pain. Fourth, professions are not gender specific – boys and girls can grow up to be whatever they would like to be. Similarly, household, community, and civic responsibilities are not gender specific; boys can help around the house, women can hold government office, and all have an obligation to contribute.

The show is also addressing boys’ roles in home. In one live-action film, brothers and sisters wake up early to clean the house and prepare breakfast for their mother. They clean the floors, then they make breakfast, and then they surprise their mother.

A mother from the Egyptian town Boulaq El Dakrour says her son's attitude about helping her in the house has changed since watching Alam Simsim.

“The other day my son Mohamed, who is 11 years old, rolled up his sleeves and washed up and mopped the floor. I came back from the market and he told me, ‘Mom, close your eyes, we have tidied up for you like Alam Simsim.’ He sweeps the stairs; before he used to tell me I won’t do anything, I am a boy.”

 Alam Simsim has come a long way in becoming a part of the Egyptian culture over the last few years. Knezevic describes a cartoon that the show’s Egyptian producer Amr Koura once showed him. It was an image of a father and child watching television together – and on the screen is the title Alam Simsim.

“No description was needed,“ Knezevic says. “We had reached a point where we had become part of the national cultural fabric of Egypt.”

For little girls and boys alike who dream of growing up to be doctors, lawyers, or even astronauts, that is very good news.

Funding Partners
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Mobinil

Production Partners
Al Karma Edutainment

Broadcasters
ETV Channel 2