Egypt’s ‘leg-ironers’ fear their craft is running out of steam
Because of modern ironing methods and steam irons in many households, Upper Egypt's leg-ironers are worried that their profession may become extinct.
The people of Upper Egypt continue to use the traditional "leg-ironers," amid concerns that the profession will become extinct with many Egyptian households owning a steam iron. But for now, the rural residents of Upper Egypt still take their clothes, especially woolen Saidi jilbabs (long and loose-fitting garments, also known as abbayas) and fabrics, to the leg-ironers, who have been passed down the skill from generation to generation.
“I started working as an ironer about 18 years ago; I followed in the footsteps of my father and grandfather. This is an old profession passed down through generations,” Abd al-Rahman al-Fouly, the owner of a clothes-ironing shop in Upper Egypt’s governorate of Sohag, told Al-Monitor.
Fouly said, “With leg-ironing, the hand controls the iron and the leg moves it. This gives maximum pressure on the clothes and therefore the result is a well-ironed piece of fabric compared to the steam irons used in households and dry-cleaning and ironing stores.”
The leg-iron is made of pure iron and weighs around 50 pounds. It takes longer than the steam iron but does not cool down as quickly. “The iron is heated over a fire for roughly 15 minutes and can iron three jilbabs before it needs to be reheated,” Fouly explained.
