In case you were wondering if only the United States experiences religious-based cultural wars, look no further than Egypt and the decision of a former actress who had decided to give up her career and wear the hijab has now reversed her decision. From AL Monitor:
… [Retired Egyptian actress Hala] Shiha created new Twitter and Instagram accounts, posting pictures of herself without the veil. In one caption, she tweeted “strong independent woman from the beginning.” Within hours of its creation, the Twitter account had gained thousands of followers, according to the BBC, but it was suspended by Shiha shortly afterward, when the pictures drew mixed reactions from supporters and critics. Liberals hailed Shiha’s decision to take off her veil while ultra-conservatives decried the move, exhorting her to reconsider her stance.
“We applaud her; hopefully other women will follow,” cheered an Alexandria resident on Twitter.
A critic, meanwhile, rebuked Shiha in a demeaning tweet on Aug. 10: “Who cares about an ‘uncovered apple’ except flies?”
Not only has Shiha been lambasted by hard-line critics, she has also been the target of a fierce campaign to pressure her into changing her mind, with some even offering cash.
“I’ll pay you 300,000 Egyptian pounds [$16,727] if you keep your veil on,” offered one Twitter user who claims to be a Saudi banker, on Aug. 10.
Osama Gaweesh, a London-based TV presenter with the privately owned Mekameleen Channel, which is often critical of Egyptian government policies, tweeted Aug. 8 that removing the headscarf was “a personal choice.” Nevertheless, he chided those hailing Shiha’s move as “stepping out of the abyss of darkness” and “a slap in the face of the Muslim Brotherhood,” warning that such rhetoric is “purely racist and a form of hate speech against all veiled women.”
The tug of war over culture is a universal phenomenon.
