At the end of June, Egypt’s notoriously backlogged criminal justice system found time to try and convict Reda al-Fouly on charges of “inciting debauchery.” Less than a month later, two other women were jailed pending investigation on the same charge. They were arrested after complaints filed by lawyers acting privately accused them of outraging public decency.
All three women are belly dancers whose supposed crime was to perform in “immoral videos” available on YouTube. To be precise, the women danced in costumes that revealed a lot of leg and cleavage, in videos for which you had to actively search. But in Egypt, and much of the Middle East, “inciting debauchery” is like violating national security. It is a catchall flexible enough to use against a variety of moral opponents and is mobilized to unite people — regardless of politics — in righteous indignation.
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