“El Tawoos”: A Series Inspired by the Fairmont Crime Sparks Social Media Outrage
As Ramadan approaches us, we’ve all begun watching the new promos of TV series that will be aired during the holy month. While some series stood out for for their creativity and portraying interesting stories, others have been trending for different reasons. On the 4th of April, Al Nahar TV posted the promo of the Egyptian series “El Tawoos,” and from the first few seconds, it was clear that the series was heavily inspired by the “Fairmont crime.”
Since the case isn’t over as of yet, with the survivor awaiting justice to be made, the trailer has infuriated most viewers on social media, especially since the case is also a matter of public opinion, and has sparked outrage for being a huge example of injustice. The Fairmont case refers to a group of men who drugged a girl, raped her as she lay unconscious, and then writing their initials on her body. In addition, the incident of the assault was captured on video. Although they’ve changed the occupation and socio-economic class of the survivor in the TV series, the fact remains that making a series at this time whilst the case remains open was a shocking surprise to many, and has been regarded as inappropriate. Shady Noor, a filmmaker who has been hugely involved with this case, expressed his anger through an Instagram story. In his post he explains how coming up with a TV series regarding this horrific crime “is insensitive, not right, unethical, painful for the survivors, for the witnesses, for their families, for the case, and for the fight against sexual violence in Egypt.”
Directed by Raouf Abdel Aziz, the series stars Gamal Suleiman, Sahar Al-Sayegh, Samiha Ayoub, Farah El Zahed, and Khaled Alish, among others. Following the release of the trailer, social media users launched campaigns, calling for the series to be prevented from airing in Ramadan.
On another note, Tariq Al-Awadi, Noha Al-Amrousi, and her daughter Nazli Mustafa’s lawyer, have submitted a complaint to the Attorney General against the producers of the series for using the image and name of his client, “Nazli,” without her consent, in order to advertise and propagate for the series.
The Egyptian Public Prosecution has previously warned against using the Fairmont case for any sort of propaganda, especially since it is still an ongoing investigation.
