This video of a sexy dancer has resurfaced on the internet and serves as a reminder for American women to not take freedoms for granted. At first, what appears to be innocent fun takes a dark and disturbing turn.
In a shocking display of the double standard women face around the world, two recent events have caught international attention. In Egypt, high-profile belly dancer Sama El-Masry was sentenced to three years in prison for “sexually suggestive” social media posts. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, an unnamed woman was brutally attacked for dancing in a way that her attacker deemed inappropriate.
Both incidents serve as reminders that women are held to different standards than men when it comes to their bodies and behavior – even if those standards don’t make sense.
Sama El-Masry is a 42-year old Egyptian belly dancer who found herself at the center of controversy when she posted videos on social media accounts such as TikTok which were deemed “sexually suggestive” by Cairo’s Misdemeanours Economic Court. Despite denying the accusations, El-Masry was found guilty of inciting immorality and debauchery through her posts – which would be considered mild by American standards – and was fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds (the equivalent of almost $18,600 USD) in addition to being sentenced to prison for three years.
Her arrest is part of a wider crackdown on social media influencers who challenge traditional values with their posts; actress Rania Youssef also faced criminal charges after receiving criticism over what she wore during a Cairo Film Festival.
Meanwhile, another unnamed woman has gone viral after video footage emerged from an event in Pakistan that showed her being violently kicked while dancing mildly. The man responsible reportedly took issue with her moves and justified his actions afterwards by saying “It is not permissible for a girl to dance in front of others in this disgraceful way!”
It is unclear whether he received any repercussions but his unprovoked attack serves as an example of how harshly women can be punished merely for expressing themselves or challenging traditional values regarding gender roles; something that often goes unpunished if done by men.
