麻豆社

In Cairo there is a 44-strong orchestra known as Al Nour Wal Amal (Light and Hope), the only one of its kind in the world. It is made up entirely of blind and visually impaired women from underprivileged backgrounds, between 20-40 years of age.

All the women musicians are now educated (many with degrees and one at the doctoral level) and a few are married - some with children. Waiting in the wings is a junior orchestra of girls from 8-20 years of age.

And yet, although the Al Nour Wal Amal Institute was founded in 1961, going on to build a compound in the Nasr City District of Cairo (with a kindergarten, a boarding school and a call centre that facilitates employment for the blind) and despite staging regular monthly concerts, annual international tours and attracting multiple donors, the organisation is struggling to secure a viable future.

Sarah El-Rashidi, who has written about the orchestra in the pre-and post revolutionary era, returns to find out how it is coping now. She discovers how the individual members learn everything by heart without being able to see the notes, let alone the conductor. She explores how their lives as visually impaired female musicians in Egypt have changed in the years since the 25 January Revolution, and what their aspirations now are. And she attends their rehearsals as they prepare for a special concert in the shadow of the Giza Pyramids.

(Photo: Al Nour Wal Amal orchestra about to perform)