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Egypt’s First Female Shipmaster Participates In New Suez Canal Celebrations

August 5, 2015
Marwa el-Slehdar on board of Aida 4

Amid a wave of rising anticipation for Egypt’s multi-billion grand project opening, Egypt’s first and youngest female shipmaster, Marwa el-Slehdar, has proudly announced her participation in the new Suez Canal opening on Thursday, reported state-owned Al-Ahram. “Even though I have been dreaming of taking part in the [New Suez Canal] opening ceremony, I never thought the dream would come true,” says Slehdar. “I was overjoyed when I learned that I would be on deck of ‘Aida 4’ as a second naval officer, making me the youngest and first Egyptian and Arab shipmaster to take part in a celebration that the whole world will be watching.” Marwa el-Slehdar, 24, is a graduate of the 73rd class of the Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AAST) in the coastal city Alexandria, and is regarded the first Egyptian woman to study marine navigation at AAST. Slehdary shared in an interview on the TV show, Masr Elnahrda (Egypt Today) that although the department only saw male applicants, there was no rule against the application of girls. However, after a female student from Djibouti was admitted into the program on a scholarship, Slehdar…


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