an egyptian widow lived her life as a man for 43 years so she could earn enough money to support her children and grandchildren, it has been revealed sisa abu daooh, 65, was six months pregnant with her first child and living in a highly conservative community in the city of luxor when her husband died unable to support her family as a 21 year old single mother and unwilling to marry a man she didn't love, abu daooh decided to shave her head, dress herself as a man and seek employment   first as a brick maker and then as a shoe shiner once she got older scroll down for video  most devoted mother: over the weekend sisa abu daooh, 65, (left) even met egypt's president, abdel fattah al sisi (right) to receive an award marking 40  years of self sacrifice  free from the threat of sexual harassment, abu daooh enjoyed her life as a man so much that even though she has now revealed her true gender, she says she will continue to spend the rest of her life as a man  free from the threat of sexual harassment, abu daooh enjoyed her life as a man so much that even though she has now revealed her true gender, she says she will continue to spend the rest of her life living and dressing as a man 'my brothers wanted me to get married againall the time they kept bringing new grooms to me,' she told gulf news egypt however abu daooh decided she could not marry somebody she didn't love and set about shaving her head and purchasing loose fitting male clothing in order to become the breadwinner herself the decision shocked and angered her family, but abu daooh ignored their pleas to remarry and instead set herself up as a brick maker by her own account she was as 'strong as 10 men' in her 20s and 30s, but as she got older her strength began to fade and she started a new business, this time as a shoe shiner sacrifice: pictured left is a woman believed to be abu daooh's daugher the mother (pictured right) was just 21 years old and six months pregnant with her first child when her husband died  no other option: unable to support her family as a 21 year old single mother and unwilling to marry a man she didn't love, abu daooh decided to shave her head, dress herself as a man and seek employment  abu daooh's decision to live as a man was made purely so she could support her young daughter 'when a woman lets go of her femininity, it's hard but i would do anything for my daughter it was the only way to make money what else could i do? i can't read or write   my family didn't send me to school   so this was the only way,' she said she had initially planned to give up the disguise as soon as her daughter married, but unfortunately her son in law fell seriously ill shortly after the wedding and was unable to seek employment as time went by she grew to enjoy spending time around men and drinking at the local male dominated cafes without suffering she kind of sexual harassment she claims she would have experienced if she was living openly as a woman despite this, abu daooh says she never actually lied about her gender and never denied being a woman if she was asked she also says that a large number of people in luxor always knew she was a woman and called her by a feminine name   and that the disguise was largely to avoid attracting abuse or prejudice from strangers or people who did not know her well now  abu daooh has been given an award for her sacrifice, with luxor's local government naming her the city's most devoted mother over the weekend she met egypt's president, abdel fattah al sisi to receive an award marking 40 years of self sacrifice
six months sisa abu daooh 21 year old 65 43 years luxor
sisa abu daooh, 65, was six months pregnant when her husband died  as she lived in a strict luxor community, she wasn't allowed to take a job  the 21 year old single mother decided to to pretend she was a man  she shaved her head and wore loose clothing to convince her employers  worked as a brick maker and a shoe shiner for 43 years before retiring  says she will continue to live as a man although she no longer needs to 