Cairo Confessions

It’s no secret that anonymity is Cairo’s best friend. Since most things are a taboo in this country, whether it’s public displays of affection, hymens (or lack thereof), alcohol and atheism, we are constantly hiding our true identities for fear of judgment and condemnation.  

Then along come Cairo Confessions. Of course the first thing we noticed is the eery similarity to Yala7wy, Cairo Scene’s ancient exiled sister site.  However, we shall let that pass. It is time to hand on the baton of blatant vulgarity now that we have become a legitimate and credible news authority.

Cairo Confessions, according to its anonymous founders "serves as an outlet for every modern Egyptian to confess their deepest darkest secrets anonymously." Starting out simply as a Facebook page, they found that their page-turned-community had gotten more publicity and popularity than they’d ever imagined possible. We’re not the only twisted alcoholics out there… go figure!

Anyone can respond to the confessions posted, which usually leads to a discussion about societal issues. "Not only is your problem heard, but you also have people who’ve gone through similar experiences giving you their advice," says the founders. "CC has become a community that repressed and oppressed Cairenes can go to when they feel they have nowhere else to turn." And yes you could find a lot of similar confessions on your average high-school’s bathroom wall (such as crushes and sexual deviances) but in Egypt these sorts of issues often continue through to adulthood.

Following the success of their Facebook page, the CC founders launched a radio show on spreaker.com. Despite having only aired three episodes so far, the shows' links on facebook have already received over 15, 000 likes. Every Saturday both admins spend an hour on the air discussing the confessions posted on their page with people live-commenting and sharing their advice and knowledge. According to the founders, the radio show has "already helped people who are self-harming, suffering from the death of a loved one, going through a divorce and much more."  And they soon plan on hosting professional guests, like doctors, psychiatrists and lawyers in a bid to "further support the community." 

That’s great but Yala7wy had a lot of funny stories about drunken people to be fair.

Check out Cairo Confessions here