5 Egyptian women were sentenced to 2 years in prison for TikTok videos that were said to violate 'Egyptian family' values

• Five Egyptian women were sentenced on Monday to two years in prison for posting "indecent" content on TikTok, as reported by the Associated Press and other outlets.
• Two of the women, Mawada Eladhm and Haneen Hossam, were publicly named in the prosecution statement, while the other three women were said to help run their social media accounts.
• Other women have faced jail time and fines for online content: an Egyptian belly dancer was sentenced to three years in prison over claims of "inciting debauchery" on TikTok.

Five Egyptian women, including 22-year-old Mawada Eladhm and 20-year-old Haneen Hossam, were sentenced to two years in jail on Monday for posting "indecent" dance videos on TikTok, the Associated Press reported. The women were also reportedly fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately $18,780 USD) each for "violating the values and principles of the Egyptian family."

According to the Associated Press, the prosecution statement only named Eladhm and Hossam, not naming three other women who were said to help run the two's social media accounts. Eladhm's lawyer confirmed the sentencing to the Associated Press, which reported that prosecution characterized Eladhm's videos as "disgraceful and insulting."

The South China Morning Post reported that Hossam, a Cairo University student, was arrested in April after publishing an Instagram video in which she said that women could work with her and earn money by broadcasting on Singapore-based Likee; public prosecution reportedly described the video as "indecent" and interpreted it as promoting online prostitution. The SCMP reported that Hossam was released on bail in June but was later re-arrested after prosecutors uncovered new evidence.

"They just want followers. They are not part of any prostitution network, and did not know this is how their message would be perceived by prosecutors," Eladhm's lawyer's assistant, Samar Shabana, told the Associated Press.

This sentencing, made on Monday, was the first since nine women who were popular on TikTok were arrested in April, according to The New York Times, which reported that a third woman is set to be sentenced on Wednesday, July 29.

The New York Times reported that TikTok has faced backlash from members of the Egyptian Parliament, who argue that it promotes immoral content. According. to the Times, these kinds of prosecutions occur when lawyers file criminal cases that accuse women of "inciting debauchery" or "spreading fake news," and that public prosecutors are empowered by a 2018 cybercrimes law that allows for prison sentences and fines for "digital content deemed to violate public morals."

Similarly, an Egyptian belly dancer, Sama El-Masry, was recently sentenced to three years in prison for "inciting debauchery" on TikTok. She also faces a 300,000 Egyptian pounds fine.

TikTok did not immediately respond to Insider for comment.

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