Egypt: Outrage over second murder of female student in less than 2 months 

A 20-year-old Egyptian woman has been stabbed to death 17 times just one and a half months after the brutal murder of Naira Ashraf.

According to reports, 22-year-old Islam Mohamad murdered Salma Bahgat after posting a story on his social media account threatening her when she turned down his marriage proposal.

A mix of heartbreak & rage today as another femicide takes place in Egypt 1.5 months following the brutal murder of Nayera Ashraf. 20yr old Salma Bahgat was stabbed to death 17 times by 22yr old Islam Mohamad; he had reportedly posted a story on his social media threatening her. pic.twitter.com/Xy1qyndeSq

— Mai El-Sadany (@maitelsadany) August 9, 2022

Salma was studying mass communication at Shorouk Academy, who released a statement following news of her death: “The faculty members of the institute and the supporting body testify that she was an example of a diligent and distinguished student at the moral and scientific level, throughout the four academic teams.”

Islam Mohamad was a student at the same university. According to local media reports, Islam had “Salma my love” tattooed on his chest.

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The tragic death of Salma Bahgat and its proximity to a recent femicide which shook the country highlights how urgent it is for the Egyptian authorities to act on violence against women.

In June another Egyptian university student Naira Ashraf was beaten and stabbed to death outside Mansoura University by Mohamed Adel, whose marriage proposal she had turned down. The murder went viral as footage of the stabbing was shared online.

Whilst rights defenders called for the Egyptian government to act on violence against women, others offered Mohamed’s family money in exchange for pardoning him. “Samaritans” from Egypt and Greece offered to pay Mohamed’s legal fees.

Mohamed Adel was sentenced to death at a trial in which Naira’s family and friends said he had stalked her, which led them to report him to the police.

Mohamed had also sent text messages to Naira threatening to kill her.

How many women & girls in Egypt need to be murdered in broad daylight before authorities take real action to protect them while they are still alive? Islam has been arrested. He'll likely be tried in a speedy trial and sentenced, possibly to death. But will that bring Salma back?

— Mai El-Sadany (@maitelsadany) August 9, 2022

How many girls & women in Egypt must be murdered in broad daylight, before the Sisi regime takes real action to protect them while they’re still alive? https://t.co/abAOU6e7YG

— Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) August 9, 2022

READ: Demonstrators gather in Berlin to protest COP27 greenwashing in Egypt

Over recent months Egyptian authorities have unleashed a campaign of arrests against women with high social media followings and accused them of outrageous “moral” charges such as “violating family principles and values.”

In one such case an influencer was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for human trafficking.

Another woman, Menna Abdelaziz, was arrested by security forces after appealing for help in a live video after she was raped and beaten.

Menna was imprisoned for four months on charges of “violating family principles and values.”

المنظومة القانونية في مصر مينفعش تنحصر في الدور العقابي فقط بالذات فيما يخص العنف ضد النساء، قضية سلمى بهجت بعد قضية نيرة أشرف وقضايا تانية كتير مثال. لازم يكون فيه وسائل حماية تمنع بقدر الإمكان الجريمة قبل وقوعها. اللي بيحصل دة خطر جدا مش معقول كل شهر ضحية جديدة!

— Mai Shams El-Din (@maishams) August 9, 2022

The legal system in Egypt cannot be limited to the punitive role only, especially with regard to violence against women, as in the case of Salma Bahgat, Naira Ashraf and many other cases. There must be protection means to prevent, as much as possible, the crime before it occurs. What is happening is very dangerous. Every month there is a new victim!