Egypt Suspends Eight TV Presenters for Being 'Too Fat'

Eight Egyptian television presenters have been told to drop weight or lose their jobs, sparking uproar among women's rights groups.

The Egyptian Radio and Television Union (Ertu) has suspended for a month eight female presenters which it deemed too overweight to appear on camera.

According to newspaper al-Youm al-Sabe, which is privately owned, the decision was taken by Ertu’s new female director Safaa Hegazi, who has given the women one month to lose weight before they can appear on air again with an "appropriate appearance."

The suspension, and the publicity it got, has not been received well by the affected presenters.

Khadija Khattab, the regular host of a 30-minute television show on Egypt's Channel 2, said that she wants people to watch her most recent TV appearances and judge for themselves if she is really "fat," and whether she deserves to be prevented from working.

"It’s unfair," Khattab told the Guardian. "It’s discriminatory. They discriminate between men and women. They haven’t gone to any men, accusing them of being fat and suspending them. Only women."

Khattab, who has worked for the Ertu over 15 years, argued that many people in Egypt had expressed sympathy with their situation.

The public reaction has not been that homogeneous though and some have started referring to the eight women as "bakabouzas," a term that describes overweight girls in Egyptian.

"There are standards for those who appear on television screen all around the world,” said Amr Al-Shennawaii, one of the chief managers for state-run Nile news TV International, told BuzzFeed News.

"For many years, people have mocked Egyptian presenters because of their appearance and lack of qualification, so when we are finally trying to bring reform, people are angry. That’s strange."

Reda Eldanbouki, the head of NGO Women's Centre for Guidance and Legal Awareness said the move was shameful and unconstitutional.

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"This decision was shameful and violates various clauses of the Egyptian constitution and objectifies women and is abusive towards them," Mr Eldanbouki told the Guardian.