Egypt’s female social media influencers face arrest
Elshimy had just landed at Cairo International Airport when she was arrested on 3 April on charges of inciting "debauchery" and "violating family values" through her social media posts. The Egyptian model and influencer with an audience of 3.3 million TikTok followers was returning from a trip to Dubai, where she had filed a residency application ahead of a planned move.
Her arrest was reported by a photographer from the United Arab Emirates, who informed the Egyptian news website Mada. According to Qatar-based Middle East Monitor, Egypt’s public prosecutor ordered that she be detained for four days on charges of "spreading immorality" and publishing videos and photographs that "contradict social morals and values".
Such arrests are increasingly common in President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s Egypt, noted Amr Magdi, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a Twitter post last week. "Egyptian authorities arrested yet another female influencer for 'debauchery' just because she posts photos we see in everyday life and TVs," he wrote, adding that arrests of women on "morality" charges "have skyrocketed" under Sisi.
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