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Essay 6 min read

The first time I wore a crop top in Cairo

By Nour Habib6 min read
The first time I wore a crop top in Cairo

I expected stares. I got three compliments and a cousin's new boyfriend asking where I shop.

For years I kept my stomach as a secret between me and the mirror. Then my friend Dina showed up to Sahel in a lime-green crop top and I understood that shame is a rented apartment — you can leave. What I learned that summer: the room shifts when you stop apologising for being in it.

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