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Leila Mohamed, who lives in a village in Assiut province, heads to the graveyard at dawn to meet the cemetery guard, who she has already bribed. The guard takes a body from one of the graves and Laila jumps over it seven times. The eerie ritual is supposed to help her get pregnant, but so far, it has not.
There are many other superstitions that women of Upper Egypt swear by. One involves throwing themselves on rocks and rolling over them seven times at dawn. A woman who told Mohamed of this method assured her that she knew someone who has succeeded in having children afterward. So far, all Mohamed has managed to achieve is cutting herself all over.
