DER SPEIGEL
Aliaa Elmahdy PHOTO/Jonas Bendiksen/Der Spiegel
Two years ago, during the revolution in Egypt, then-20-year-old Aliaa Elmahdy posted a nude photo of herself online as a form of protest against the restrictions of and mistreatment by her parents. The photo rapidly became an icon of the revolution, but different people interpreted it in different ways.
Mahmoud Abdul Rahman PHOTO/Scott Nelson/Der Spiegel
In March 2012, after being kidnapped and receiving death threats, Elmahdy fled Egypt for asylum in Sweden. Many have strongly condemned her actions. Mahmoud Abdul Rahman, a 32-year-old lawyer in Cairo, wrote to Egypt’s attorney general demanding that Elmahdy’s citizenship be revoked. Rahman says that Elmahdy must be punished as severely as possible because he fears that if she is not, his daughters could imitate her actions one day.
Living in exile in Sweden has been lonely for Elmahdy. She lives a withdrawn life, with no friends and much fear. She has joined the feminist group Femen and also waged nude protests of her own in support of a wide range of causes.
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