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CAIRO -- A woman activist who posted nude pictures of herself on her blog to protest limits on free expression has triggered an uproar in Egypt, drawing condemnations from conservatives and liberals alike.
Some liberals feared that the posting by 20-year-old university student Aliaa Magda Elmahdy would taint them in the eyes of deeply conservative Egyptians ahead of Nov. 28 parliamentary elections in which they are trying to compete with fundamentalist Islamic parties.
Nudity is strongly frowned upon in Egyptian society, even as an art form. Elmahdy's posting is almost unheard of in a country where most women in the Muslim majority wear the headscarf and even those who don't rarely wear clothes exposing the arms or legs in public.
Elmahdy wrote on her blog that the photographs - which show her standing wearing only stockings - are "screams against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy." The blog has received 1.5 million hits since she posted the photos earlier this week.
The posting comes at a time when Egypt, a nation of some 85 million people, is polarized between Islamists and liberals ahead of the elections, the first since the February ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak. Members of the most hardline Islamic movement in Egypt, the Salafis, have warned voters during their campaigns that liberals will corrupt Egypt's morals.
"This hurts the entire secular current in front of those calling themselves the people of virtue," Sayyed el-Qimni, a prominent self-described secular figure, said referring to Islamists.
"It's is a double disaster. Because I am liberal and I believe in the right of personal freedom, I can't interfere," el-Qimni said Wednesday night on one of Egypt's popular TV political talk shows, "90 Minutes."
The April 6 movement, one of the most prominent liberal activist groups that led the 18-day uprising against Mubarak, issued a statement denying claims by some on the Web that Elmahdy is a member of the group.
The posting prompted furious discussions on Internet social media sites, with pages for and against her put up on Facebook.
One activist, Ahmed Awadallah, praised her in a Tweet, writing, "I'm totally taken back by her bravery."
A supporter, who identified himself as Emad Nasr Zikri, wrote in a comment on Elmahdy's blog, "We need to learn how to separate between nudity and sex." He said that before fundamentalist influence in Egypt, "there were nude models in art school for students to draw."
Some 100 people liked his comment, while thousands flooded the site with insults. Some denounced Elmahdy as a "prostitute" and "mentally sick" or urged police to arrest her.
Elmahdy did not reply to attempts by The Associated Press to contact her.
Her move comes as Salafis have become more assertive in pushing their attitude that women should be kept out of the public eye, promoting a Saudi Arabia-style segregation of the sexes. On Salafi parties' campaign banners, photos of the few female candidates are replaced by drawings of a flower.
Seriously though,this woman has put herself in quite a bit of danger. I pray she survives this.
No worries: quran sez beat the disobedient bitch. If that doesn't work, the shariah sez her family can honor kill her.
You know, the religion of peace.
No worries: quran sez beat the disobedient bitch. If that doesn't work, the shariah sez her family can honor kill her.
You know, the religion of peace.
I still don't get why a woman posing nude would spark an outrage, I just don't get it.
No worries: quran sez beat the disobedient bitch. If that doesn't work, the shariah sez her family can honor kill her.
You know, the religion of peace.
I still don't get why a woman posing nude would spark an outrage, I just don't get it.
You don't get why a religion that mandates women be covered up with burqas would oppose nude women?
I still don't get why a woman posing nude would spark an outrage, I just don't get it.
You don't get why a religion that mandates women be covered up with burqas would oppose nude women?
When you put it like that, makes perfect sense. This woman should leave the country before she is butchered.
I am sure that the religious wackos in the US would welcome such a move.
I am sure that the religious wackos in the US would welcome such a move.
She can't be too sexy considering she was no doubt clitorally mutilated as is the muslime custom in Egypt
She can't be too sexy considering she was no doubt clitorally mutilated as is the muslime custom in Egypt
The jew custom is to cut off the sensitive part of the Penis to stop the men from enjoying sex, the result is they prefer the Anus, and no condom
The jewish circumcision is the celebrated mutilation of the male foreskin, symbolizing the jewgod's fetish for knives, mutilating children, and baby penis. The jewgod is so obsessed mutilating penises that he curses the jew's foreskin, as it is said that any jew with a foreskin may actually enjoy sex and pleasure his woman. This is of course at odds with what the jewgod wants which is for jews to only worship him and give him money. Genital Mutilation is usually inflicted by a "mohel", a Jew who likes cutting baby penis.
Jewish baby's first cock suck, the Rabbi, not so much
She's pretty cute,i would hate to see her get her head chopped off or stoned to death. She is a very very brave soul.
She can't be too sexy considering she was no doubt clitorally mutilated as is the muslime custom in Egypt
The jew custom is to cut off the sensitive part of the Penis to stop the men from enjoying sex, the result is they prefer the Anus, and no condom
The jewish circumcision is the celebrated mutilation of the male foreskin, symbolizing the jewgod's fetish for knives, mutilating children, and baby penis. The jewgod is so obsessed mutilating penises that he curses the jew's foreskin, as it is said that any jew with a foreskin may actually enjoy sex and pleasure his woman. This is of course at odds with what the jewgod wants which is for jews to only worship him and give him money. Genital Mutilation is usually inflicted by a "mohel", a Jew who likes cutting baby penis.
Jewish baby's first cock suck, the Rabbi, not so much
Jos = Obsessed with Jews and their dicks.
Wonder why? Not me.
