Egypt takes legal action against actor Amr Waked over 'tweet offensive to women'

Egypt's National Council for Women (NCW) filed an official complaint before the prosecutor general against actor Amr Waked, accusing him of publicly defaming and slandering Egyptian women online after a recent tweet he had posted about pro-regime women, local media outlets reported on Thursday.

In the tweet in question, the Egyptian actor posted a survey over the weekend for his followers to answer, asking them who is better? "A woman, supportive of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who is available for 100 men or [one] against him, who is worth 100 men."

Most of those who support Sisi and others who are anti-Sisi were quick to denounce Waked's tweet, considering it offensive to Egypt's women.

After Waked deleted the tweet, he also posted an apology on Twitter.

"I wrote a tweet by mistake; I apologise in case I hurt a woman, whether one who is pro-Sisi or against him…It has nothing to do with opinion. I did a mistake, and it's OK for me to apologise. Supporting the regime is nasty, but [what I did] was unethical," the actor wrote. 

In response to Waked's tweet, NCW president Maya Morsy posted on her Facebook: "Opposition doesn't mean to offend women…the Egyptian woman that you [offended] is the one who…saved her country, by the way, even if you don't approve of that. She's the same one whose children martyred defending their homeland…. Your apology, Amr Waked, is unacceptable. Shame on you…"

Earlier this week, the head of complaints at NCW Amal Abdel-Moniem said that the council received several complaints on its hotline against Waked, most of whom expressed resentment against his comments.

"The council rejects any kind of offence against Egyptian women who set examples of the struggle for the sake of their homeland," she told talk show host Ahmed Mossa earlier this week during a phone interview with satellite Sada El-Balad TV channel.

Waked, who was once among the most vocal celebrities behind the 25 January revolution in 2011, is currently a persona non grata in Egypt for being an outspoken critic of Sisi's reign.

In January this year, a Cairo administrative court rejected a lawsuit filed by Waked and actor Khaled Abol-Naga that contested the decision of the actors' syndicate to expel them over allegedly committing "high treason."

The two actors have not been officially charged with treason but were slammed by supporters of Sisi after they held a meeting with members of the US Congress that criticised the country's deteriorating human rights situation.

Both men are currently in self-exile outside the country, continuing their careers in international cinema and TV.