Egyptian state TV ends 52-year ban on veiled anchorwomen
By Nehal El-Sherif and Salamah Abdul-Hamid, dpa =
Cairo (dpa) – Wearing a cream-coloured scarf covering her hair, and a long-sleeved black jacket, Fatma Nabil this weekend became the first veiled anchorwoman to deliver the news bulletin on Egypt's state television.
Nabil is one of four veiled female broadcasters who are now able to present the news.
Ibrahim al-Sayyad, head of news in the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, said “A presenter's charisma, culture and proper pronunciation are the most important thing for her job. Her appearance is important too, but it should be appropriate for her job, especially for anchorwomen.”
State television in a statement said merely that all female presenters will need to coordinate their “style and look,” without elaborating.
Al-Sayyad said that all four presenters already worked in state television, but were behind the cameras until Sunday.
Nabil, who read the 12 pm (1100 GMT) news bulletin, had been working as a news editor, and was given the slot after a screening test.
Since the establishment of Egyptian television in 1960, housed in a huge building located on the Nile river in central Cairo, known locally as Maspero, no female presenters have worn headscarves.
The only exception was Kariman Hamza, who specialized in religious programming in the early 1990s.
Former president Hosny Mubarak, who was forced from power in February 2011, banned veiled presenters from appearing on screen.
Religious conservatives attacked Mubarak for this and said it a sign of the dictatorial nature of the regime - especially as the number of veiled women across Egypt was increasing quickly.
In March 2011, veiled TV hosts were allowed on screen, but were confined to presenting chatshows, mostly about family and social issues.
In January, an administrative court overruled the decision by Mubarak's final Information Minister, Anas al-Fiqi, to ban a veiled TV host from appearing on screen. The case was filed in 2008 by Channel 5 presenter Lamiyaa al-Amir, against al-Fiqi.
The court said al-Fiqi's decision violated personal freedoms, and the verdict was hailed by many as one of the achievements of the January 25 revolution.
However, others have been alarmed by the rise of Islamists in Egypt, especially after a Salafist leader insisted that a female presenter cover her hair in order to interview him last year.
Islamists won two-thirds of the now-dissolved parliament, before Mohammed Morsi was elected in June as the first Islamist - and the first civilian - president.
"I think state television should give equal weight to the presenters' appearance and to their level of culture," said Jihan Mansour, a talk show host at a private television station in Cairo.
However, Mansour - who began her career as a presenter in state television - warns that all presenters should be qualified, and hopes that the end of the ban is not related to the election of an Islamist president.
Some are wary, given that the move came shortly after Salah Abdul-Maqsud, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was appointed as Information Minister in August.
"I just fear that things will turn around and we will find that non-veiled woman are banned from appearing on screen," said Mona Salman, a broadcaster with a regional channel.
