Cairo: As many as five women social media influencers were sentenced to two years in jail on charges of violating public morals in Egypt, informed a judicial source on Monday.
An Egyptian court sentenced Haneen Hossam, Mowada al-Adham and three others after they posted footage on video-sharing app TikTok.
This apart, the court has directed them to pay a fine of 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($18,750) each.
“The Cairo economic court sentenced Hossam, Adham and three others to two years after they were convicted of violating society values,” said source.
The arrests highlighted a social divide in the deeply conservative Muslim country over what constitutes individual freedoms and “social norms”.
Some analysts, on the other hand, claimed that the young women were targeted due to their modest roots.
Their arrests “are part of violence against women because they come from lower classes”, according to lawyer Intesar al-Saeed.
Egypt has enforced strict internet controls through laws allowing authorities to block websites deemed a threat to national security and to monitor personal social media accounts with over 5,000 followers.
Rights groups say the laws solidify government censorship of online media.
Human rights lawyer Tarek al-Awadi said the latest arrests showed how a deeply conservative and religious society was wrestling with the rapid rise of modern communications technology.
“There is a technological revolution happening and legislators need to take into account a constantly changing environment,” Awadi said.
Ms Kalinga