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Maryam Raafat is an Egyptian journalist who has been writing about cultural and social issues since 2009 for local and international outlets, including the Egyptian Gazette and Xinhua. On Twitter: @Maryam28853298
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Maryam Raafat
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Maryam Raafat
![A few people walk in the vicinity of the closed Al-Azhar mosque in Egypt's capital Cairo on March 20, 2020, after the country's Muslim religious authorities decided to put the Friday prayers on hold, in order to avoid gatherings and the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 disease. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/03/GettyImages-1207925820.jpg/GettyImages-1207925820.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=s4DFENlt)
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Maryam Raafat
![A South Cairo Electricity Distribution Company power station is seen in front of the construction site of a bridge, part of Rod El-Farag Axis project, near Cairo's Warraq Island, Egypt, November 15, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RC15D612BA00](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2019/06/RTS262ZP.jpg/RTS262ZP.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=tIw7E8jN)
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Maryam Raafat
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Maryam Raafat