According to UN Women, men in Egypt and in other Middle Eastern countries, it's often considered taboo to disclose your mother's name. In fact, if a man does reveal his mother's name, he will often be subject to public ridicule.
View this video on YouTube
Over time her name will be forgotten, only to be known as "the mother of her eldest son." UN Women and Impact BBDO Dubai established the "Give Mom Back Her Name" initiative with hopes to make an impact and take steps to diminish this horrible taboo.
UN Women asked several men in the Middle East, "what is your mother's name?" and the response was heartbreaking.
This guy didn't want to reveal it either.
A couple of them had nervous jitters...
But this guy offered up the real reason why these men don't want to reveal their mother's names.
And this guy clarified, it's OK for you to mention your father's name, just not your mother's.
It's not that these men don't want to reveal their mother's names, they are just scared of what could happen if they do.
To bring awareness, this initiative asked men in the Middle East to change their Twitter profile on Mother's Day to their mother's name. In this region, it was celebrated on March 21.
So far the response to the campaign was positive, with most just tweeting the names using the hashtag #MyMothersNameIs.
#MyMothersNameIs Amal. It means hope and I hope we meet again.
#MyMothersNameIs Mariam Ali Alnuaimi 💗
Grethe - and I am very proud of her #MyMothersNameIs: https://t.co/88zBxYV80Z via @YouTube
Give mom back her name: #MyMothersNameIs Angel And she's really an angel. https://t.co/cdDwofDZZZ @UN_Women
@res_syr #عيد_الام #MyMothersNameIs سارة ♥♥♥:)
Translated to Sarah.
#MyMothersNameIs Salwa Bakr :)
@UN_Women #MyMothersNameIs .. Pooja Shetty .. Give mom back her name https://t.co/oDLSEV2lkO