Aliaa Magda Elmahdy (, ; born 16 November 1991) is an Egyptian internet activist and feminist advocate. She became known for publishing a nude photo on her

Blogspot Blogger is an American online content management system founded in 1999 that enables its users to write blogs with time-stamped entries. Pyra Labs developed it before being acquired by Google in 2003. Google hosts the blogs, which can be acc ...

page, which she described on Facebook as "screams against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy". Since then she became a subject of several death threats. Elmahdy describes herself as a "secular, liberal, feminist, vegetarian, individualist Egyptian" and has identified as an atheist since turning 16.

Biography

Nude photo

In 2011 Elmahdy and another activist,

Kareem Amer Kareem Nabil Suleiman Amer (, ) (born c. 1984) is an Egyptian Norwegian blogger and former law student. He was arrested by Egyptian authorities for posts on his blog that were considered to be anti-religious and insulting to Egyptian President Hos ...

, were stopped for walking in a public park, with their arms over each other's shoulders (a

public display of affection Public displays of affection (PDA) are acts of physical intimacy in the view of others. What is considered to be an acceptable display of affection varies with respect to culture and context. Some organizations have rules limiting or prohib ...

) and kissing, then taken to the park's security office, where they debated with managers of a public park who expelled them, and later posted

mobile video Mobile content is any type of web hypertext and information content and electronic media which is viewed or used on mobile phones, like text, sound, ringtones, graphics, flash, discount offers, mobile games, movies, and GPS navigation. As mobile pho ...

footage. Elmahdy posted the nude photo on 23 October 2011 and according to her tweet, took the photo herself in the "parent's home months before" she met

Amer Amer may refer to: Places * Amer (river), a river in the Dutch province of North Brabant * Amer, Girona, a municipality in the province of Girona in Catalonia, Spain * Amber, India (also known as Amer, India), former city of Rajasthan state ** Am ...

Reactions

Elmahdy's blog received over 2 million hits, with a number of insults. Pages for both support and protest against Elmahdy's action have been opened on Facebook. Fearing of becoming tainted in the eyes of Islamic conservatives, Egyptian liberals distanced themselves from Elmahdy. The

6 April Youth Movement The April 6 Youth Movement () is an Egyptian activist group established in Spring 2008 to support the workers in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, an industrial town, who were planning to strike on 6 April. Activists called on participants to wear black and ...

issued a statement denying claims that Elmahdy is a member of the group. Women in the revolution

A case, filed by Islamic law graduates, accused Elmahdy and Amer of "violating morals, inciting indecency and insulting Islam". False rumors about her beating on the

Tahrir Square Tahrir Square (, ; ), also known as Martyr Square, is a public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations. The 2011 Egyptian revolution and the resignation of President of Egypt, ...

and death have been spread since then. Egyptian

expatriates An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

, Western-based Arab journalists and representatives of American art community have expressed their support. Iranian-born activist

Maryam Namazie Maryam Namazie (; born 1966) is a British-Iranian secularist, communist and human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster. She is the Spokesperson for Fitnah – Movement for Women’s Liberation, One Law for All and the Council of Ex-Musl ...

defined Elmahdy's action as "a scream against

Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...

" and "the ultimate act of rebellion". According to actress Amanda Banoub, Elmahdy "displayed genuine purity and modesty without a single layer of clothing". Recalling the

virginity test A virginity test is the pseudoscientific practice and process of determining whether a woman or girl is a virgin; i.e., to determine that she has never engaged in, or been subjected to, vaginal intercourse. The test typically involves a check for ...

s carried out by the military to women in

, Egyptian-American journalist

Mona Eltahawy Mona Eltahawy (, ; born August 1, 1967) is a freelance Egyptian-American journalist and social commentator based in New York City. She has written essays and op-eds for publications worldwide on Egypt and the Islamic world, on topics including wo ...

noted that Elmahdy "is the

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a glass bottle filled wit ...

thrown at the

Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st prime minister from 1981 to 1982. He was previously ...

s in our heads – the dictators of our mind – which insists that revolutions cannot succeed without a tidal wave of cultural changes that upend misogyny and sexual hypocrisy". About forty Israeli women gathered via Facebook to "show support in a non-violent and legitimate way for a woman who is just like us – young, ambitious, full of dreams and evidently has a developed sense of humor". The participants were photographed behind a sign saying "love without limits" and "Homage to Aliaa Elmahdi. Sisters in Israel".

Flight to Sweden

Continuing the photographic theme of her protest, Elmahdy has subsequently called for men to submit images of themselves wearing veils "in an attempt to create awareness over hypocritical attitudes," and requested women "who wish to remove their veils to send her photographs of their faces, to be published online." In 2012, Elmahdy sought

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

in Sweden for fear of being jailed, after being kidnapped and receiving death threats. In December 2012, Elmahdy participated in a public nude protest outside the Egyptian embassy in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, together with

Inna Shevchenko Inna Shevchenko () is a Ukrainian feminist activist and the leader of international women's movement FEMEN, which often demonstrates topless against what they perceive as manifestations of patriarchy, especially dictatorship, religion, and the ...

and another

FEMEN Femen (stylized in all caps; Russian and Ukrainian: Фемен, Belarusian: Фэмэн) is a Ukrainian radical feminist activist group whose goal is to protect women's rights. The organization became internationally known for organizing con ...

member. The three naked activists protested against the "sharia-dictatorial" proposed Egyptian Constitution, drafted by

Mohamed Morsi Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

in those days. Elmahdy had painted "Sharia is not a constitution" in red across her chest and stomach while holding an Egyptian flag. In July 2013 she was interviewed by ''

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...

'' where she stated that during her asylum process, the

Swedish Migration Agency The Swedish Migration Agency (), is a Swedish government agency, established on 1 July 1969. Its task is to evaluate and decide on applications from people who want to seek a temporary residence permit, acquire permanent residence or citizenship ...

received several letters with continued death threats directed towards her. She expressed that she was able to wear trousers and a tank top while walking the streets without fearing being verbally or physically harassed, unlike in Egypt. When asked to comment on Islamic organisations claiming that her campaigning reduces the freedom of Muslim women to wear the veil, she responded that she has never seen a man exercise the freedom to wear a veil. In the interview she expresses doubt towards liberal supporters and stated her belief that many men who claim to oppose

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

join campaign organisations simply to get laid. In 2013, Elmahdy and two other Femen activists staged a protest in

Stockholm mosque Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's Mosque (, ), commonly known as the Stockholm Mosque (''Stockholms moské'') or the Stockholm Grand Mosque (''Stockholms stora moské''), is the largest mosque in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Kapellgränd 10, a ...

against

Sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

and the oppression of women. They were arrested by police for disturbing public order.

New nude protests

During

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

on 8 March 2014, Elmahdy and seven other Arab and Iranian women, including

and Amina Tyler, protested naked for women's rights at the

Louvre Pyramid The Louvre Pyramid () is a large glass-and-metal entrance way and skylight designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The pyramid is in the main courtyard (Cour Napoléon) of the Louvre Palace in Paris, surrounded by three smaller pyr ...

, chanting slogans in French in favour of freedom, equality and

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

(''liberté, égalité et

laïcité (; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as the separation of civil society and religious society. It discourages religious involvement in governmen ...

). In August 2014, she released a photo of herself menstruating on the flag of the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

(ISIL) wearing only shoes, while another woman defecated on it. Media in Islamic countries did not publish the photo, as the

flag of ISIL The jihadist flag is a flag commonly used by various Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist movements as a symbol of jihad. It usually consists of the Black Standard with a white text of the ''Shahada'' (Islamic declaration of faith) emblazoned a ...

features the Muslim declaration of faith.

References

External links

* https://twitter.com/aliaaelmahdy
Interview with
Amina Sboui and Aliaa Magda Elmahdy by

Comics Aliaa Elmahdy
by

Gianluca Costantini Gianluca Costantini (born December 19, 1971) in Ravenna, Italy, is a cartoonist, artist, comic journalist, and activist. Biography Gianluca Costantini is an Italian illustrator and cartoonist who received hi training at the Academy of Fine ...

Elmahdy's CNN interviewElmahdy's interview about her alleged beating in Tahrir Square
*
The Naked Bodies of Alia
'' by Sara Mourad in ''Jadaliyya,'' 1 January 2013 *
Who Is Afraid of Alia’s Nudity?
'' by Sara Emiline Abu Ghazal in ''Sawt al Niswa,'' 18 November 2011 *

'' by Michael Kaplan in ''NJB Article and Source Repository,'' 2 February 2013 *

* ttp://njbrepository.blogspot.de/2013/02/aliaa-magda-elmahdy-and-femen-protest.html Aliaa Magda Elmahdy and Femen Protest Against Morsi in Stockholm - NJB Article and Source Repositorybr> The Egyptian Feminist Who Was Kidnapped for Posing Nude February 14, 2013 By Amira Asad, vice.comfeminist activists have pooped and menstruated on an IS flag By Chris Köver. 27 August 2014 vice.com/de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmahdy, Aliaa Magda 1991 births Living people African social liberals Egyptian atheists Egyptian democracy activists Egyptian former Sunni Muslims Egyptian feminists Sex-positive feminists Egyptian critics of religions Egyptian women's rights activists Critics of Sunni Islam Individualist feminists Internet activists Nudity and protest People of the Egyptian revolution of 2011 People persecuted by Muslims 21st-century Egyptian women 21st-century Egyptian people