The state-owned Egyptian television network ERTU has caused an uproar among women rights group for suspending eight of its plumper anchors and giving them a brash ultimatum: either shed a few pounds or stay home.
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Khadija Khattab is one of eight television presenters who have been suspended due to their weight. When Safaa Hegazy, a former TV anchor, was appointeddirector of ERTU in April, she pledged to make the broadcaster more competitive despite losses to rival outlets.
The Egyptian Radio and Television Union told the eight women to go on a diet in order to reach an “appropriate appearance” for broadcast, according to the Arabic-language newspaper Al-Yawm al-Sabi. I’d have appreciated the suspension decision if those presenters were suspended because they did their job badly or appeared with excessive make-up.
Khadija Khatab, one of the dismissed presenters, told local media that she wants people to watch her most recent appearances on Egypt’s Channel 2 and judge if she is really fat and deserves the suspension.
The Women’s Centre for Guidance and Legal Awareness said on Facebook that the act of suspending these women due to their weight “violates the constitution” and that it was a form of violence against women. The Women’s Centre for Guidance and Legal Awareness, an Egyptian human rights group, condemned the measure in a Facebook post, saying it is discriminatory and violates women’s constitutional rights.
Another presenter told local media the situation had upset her family and should have been dealt with internally, without the public finding out.
Despite criticism, the ERTU will not reverse the decision.
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But author and academic Waheed Abdul Majid said the channel should focus on improving its content, rather than the appearance of the presenters. One female Twitter user described ERTU head Safaa Hegazy as a “strong woman” for making the decision. He told the Sada al-Balad news site that a presenter “might be a little overweight, but she is eloquent”.
