Egyptian Feminists React to the Arrest of the Runaway Alexandrian Girls

Earlier this week, lots of pages shared photos and contact details of girls who were reported missing in Egypt’s Alexandria. Just the thought of having these girls kidnapped by unknown sociopaths spread the horror among the Egyptian social media and the posts got viral in an instant.

Reaching the police authorities, Sherif Abdel-Hameed, the director of the criminal investigation department in the Alexandrian Security Directorate, announced that the stories spread online about the abduction of the girls are fabricated and exaggerated, “All the girls reported to be kidnapped were originally runaways.”

Abdel-Hameed also said that the girls claimed that they got kidnapped to either escape parental punishment or “hide their disgrace.” It was announced that the police successfully got hold of the runaway girls and returned them to their families.

Feminists React

A feminist group called “Girls Revolution” expressed its disapproval in a statement yesterday saying:

The “Girls Revolution” group condemns the action of the executive authorities as they forcibly dragged one of the girls to her family, despite her being of legal age, and defamed her identity on social media.

 

The Egyptian executive powers committed clear breach of international human rights and agreements to end violence against women bythis action, which could result in exposing her to many kinds of abuse, mental, physical and could go as far as killing, which is blessed by the Egyptian law under the name of “honor crimes.

 

The executive and legislative powers must recognize the full right of women to choose their lifestyles, and that they are not the property of the males in the family. Therefore dealing with women must be on the basis of citizenship, not anything else.

On another note, with the rise of women wanting to move out of their parents’ houses in Egypt, will authorities interfere and go chasing women who moved out if the parents – or anyone really – sought their help? The horror.

WE SAID THIS: What is this world we live in?