A 22-year-old girl was last month sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of violating Egyptian family values.
Mawanda, a university student was arrested in May after posting videos on her social media wall – TikTok and Instagram where she lipsynced to famous songs and danced in a fashionable outfit. The prosecutor found her guilty for posting indecent videos.
Mawada has more than 1.6 million followers on Instagram and 3 million on TikTok.
According to her sister Rahma, Mawanda just “wanted to be famous and popular”.
Rahma said Mawada was modeling on social media for many well-known fashion brands.
“She was just too ambitious. She dreamt of being an actress.
“Why her? Some actresses dress in a very explicit way. Nobody touches them,” she posed.
Human rights group Amnesty International said the prosecutors used photos of Mawada against her as evidence of “indecency”.
But Mwada said the photos that were used as evidence were images that had been leaked from her phone after it was stolen last year.
The case will go to appeal on 17 August and the university student will be hoping for a reduced sentence.
According to her lawyer, Mawada fainted when she heard the initial verdict.
“She’s totally devastated – the charges are very vaguely worded,” said lawyer Ahmed Bahkiry.
“Prison cannot be a solution, even if some of her videos go against our social norms and traditions,” he added.
Her lawyer further said prisons create criminals and the authorities could have resorted to rehabilitation instead.
The case has however derived mixed reaction in Egypt – a Muslim conservative county with some viewing Mawada’s TikTok videos as indecent.
While others argued that the young lady was just having fun and did not deserve to go to prison.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said there are no prisoners of conscience in his county even as the state question the credibility of critical human rights reports.
Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, a Cairo-based human rights organization, has called for the girl’s release.
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Through its executive director, Mohamed Lotfy, the organization said the case showed clear signs of gender discrimination.
“Women are only allowed to express themselves on social media according to the state’s dictations.
“The girls are accused of breaching Egyptian family values, but no-one has ever defined these values,” he said.
