Inside the offices of Al-Ahram, one of Egypt's oldest newspapers, in Cairo, Egypt. (Kim Badawi/Getty Images)[/caption]
Following a decision by the government this May, Egyptians are adjusting their watches, clocks, phones and computers an hour backward to welcome the holy month of Ramadan for the first time in three years.
Daylight saving time fell with the toppling of former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 following the January 25 revolution. Abolishing it was one of the post-revolutionary government’s most influential decisions, and probably the only one to have lasted. Many Egyptians have said that canceling daytime saving was, ironically, the revolution’s only accomplishment—a harsh judgment but one that feels true to many. It was originally implemented to increase productivity during daylight and reduce electricity consumption. However, the Ministry of Electricity in former prime minister Essam Sharaf’s government presented the cabinet with a study that purportedly proved the system did nothing of the sort.
Three years later, former interim president Adly Mansour’s government thought otherwise. On May 7, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab reinstated the system, primarily to reduce electricity consumption. Cabinet spokesman Hossam El-Qweish said the aim was to increase the total hours citizens would spend outside their homes, thus using less electricity. Hafez El-Salmawy, executive director of Egypt’s electricity regulator, had said previously that the summertime system would only reduce electricity consumption by 1.5 percent, which, according to Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker, was too small a reduction to prevent power cuts, which have become increasingly frequent since the beginning of summer.
According to the second article of Law 141, passed in 1988, the holy month of Ramadan is exempt from the summertime system—which legally starts on the last Friday of April and continues until the last Thursday of September—to avoid having longer days during the holy month, thus adding to the confusion and disruption.
Many young revolutionaries mocked the decision on social media and some sarcastically wondered if the government could push the time backward a few more hours to shorten an excruciatingly long day of fasting—no eating or drinking is allowed between Fajr (dawn) at 3:00 am until Maghrib (sunset) at 7:00 pm. Mohamed El-Sawy, a young engineer, finds the practice confusing. “Calendar sync was impossible, and scheduling international conferences was confusing for both sides,” he says, adding that the sudden changes of time made his team look like “a bunch of amateurs.”
Fadwa El-Gallal, a young reporter, says it was difficult for her to adjust to the new timing, while Sara El-Shorafa says it disrupted her infant’s sleep patterns. For techies, daylight saving was a curse: “My computer and phone went crazy and I reverted to the analogue clock to figure out what time it really was,” says Malak Rashed, a young interior designer.
Others believe that daylight saving doesn’t work in warm countries. Mahmoud El-Fouly, a young physician, explains that the system depends on lengthening daytime. In hot weather, long days would only push people to use air conditioners for longer, which would not reduce electricity consumption. Amira Soliman echoed his claims, saying that daylight saving may alter people’s daily habits, but wouldn’t change their power consumption.
Mostafa Yehia, a young journalist, sees the decision as evidence of the government’s inability to generate new solutions for the country’s chronic electricity problem, instead reverting to archaic methods that have proven inefficient.
The first time Egyptians flipped time backwards for the month of Ramadan was in 2006, and this continued for the following three years—a practice that many conservative Muslims described as deceptive. “For days I was praying at the wrong time,” says Farida Abdallah, a housewife.
Despite the futility of the system, governments, one after the other, have inherited it and pass it on to their successors for no apparent reason. On July 28, Egypt will jump forward an hour in time and daylight saving will continue until the end of September.
All views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, The Majalla magazine.
