Bothaina Kamel (; born 18 April 1962, in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

) is an Egyptian television anchor, activist, and politician. A long-time pro-democracy advocate, particularly in Shayfeencom, her professional career has been marked by repeated conflict with authorities. In June 2011 she announced her candidacy for the Egyptian presidency, although she did not receive enough signatures to make the ballot. She announced on 12 April 2014 that she would run in the 2014 presidential election though she was unable to collect enough endorsements to run. Kamel hosted an Egyptian radio program called ''Nighttime Confessions'' from 1992 to 1998. She later worked as a new presenter for Egyptian state television, and hosted a show called ''Please Understand Me'' on the Saudi Arabian-owned Orbit satellite TV network. In each assignment, she eventually encountered official resistance: ''Confessions'' was cancelled after outcries by religious conservatives; she took a leave of absence from Egyptian state television rather than participate in propaganda surrounding the 2005 elections; and ''Understand Me'' was taken off the air by the Saudi producers when they became concerned that its coverage of the

2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...

would implicate Saudi interests. She has long been active in pro-democracy activities, often present a pro-democracy rallies, forming the election monitoring group Shayfeencom, in 2005, and immediately taking to the streets during the 2011 revolution. She is a self-described

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, and ran as an independent. A

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

, she has taken anti-sectarian stances, endorsing proposals for equal treatment of Coptic and Muslim places of worship and for trying those who incite sectarian violence. Additionally, she wears a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

and a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

cross necklace __NOTOC__ A cross necklace is any necklace featuring a Christian cross or crucifix as its pendant. Crosses are often worn as an indication of commitment to the Christian faith, and are sometimes received as gifts for rites such as baptism and c ...

both are symbols of Egyptian unity and also were the symbol of the

1919 Egyptian Revolution The Egyptian revolution of 1919 (, ''Thawra 1919'') was a nation-wide revolution in the Sultanate of Egypt against British occupation which lasted from November 1918 to July 1919. Occurring right after the end of World War I, the revolution ...

. She criticized the military, rather than either sect, for sectarian clashes that have erupted in the wake of the revolution. Other positions include reducing the minimum age of parliamentarians from 30 to 22 in view of the youth participation in the revolution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamel, Bothaina People of the Egyptian revolution of 2011 Egyptian democracy activists Candidates for President of Egypt 21st-century Egyptian women politicians 21st-century Egyptian politicians Egyptian revolutionaries Living people 1962 births Egyptian Sunni Muslims Independent politicians in Egypt Female revolutionaries