Safaa Hegazy, head of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, has been making headlines because of a bold and unexpected move. Eight female anchors were just suspended due to their overweight appearance and are given only ONE month to shed the extra weight.
The move was apparently an attempt to improve the Egyptian TV image. So far, the decision only includes eight female hosts who are extremely upset that their names were mentioned in an official statement, due to the body-shaming comments they’re being subjected to by media outlets and social media users.
Khadija Negma asked her fans and viewers to watch her show ‘Etlalah’ and judge her performance and appearance, adding that there is a hidden agenda to get rid of successful female anchors as she is a normal-looking woman, not over-weight.
This is disgusting on so many levels. First of all, why the hell would Egyptian television authorities leave these women for years without any warnings and then suddenly suspend them? Why do you body shame women and go public with their names? How do you expect women over 30 to lose at least 15 kgs in ONE month? It’s chemically and biologically unhealthy.
But the biggest question of them all, where is the over-weight male anchors? Not only is this decision the epitome of female objectification but also infuriatingly sexist. Well, if you think men deserve female eye candy, where are our rights as female viewers? If body image is your main target, how would it feel if we ask for male eye candies too? Will you fire bald men, with body hair and a belly coming out of their suits and get us men over 40 who actually look representative because they don’t fit some fictional beauty standards?
Some of the most powerful women on TV, aka Oprah Winfrey, have suffered at some point of their lives from weight issues and yet it was always her brains and spirit that left her standing out in an ocean of so-called skinnier women.
WE SAID THIS: Ugh…