A video of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser mocking the Muslim Brotherhood’s attempts to impose the hijab on all Egyptian women has gone viral after being shared by ‘In The NOW’ on Facebook.
The video, which is often circulated by Egyptians on social media, was shared with English subtitles and has been viewed more than three million times since it was shared on Friday.
The video captures part of a speech by the former Egyptian President in the 1950s where he spoke about meeting the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood.
“I met the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood and he sat with me and made his requests. What did he request?” says Nasser.
“The first thing he asked was to make wearing the hijab mandatory in Egypt, and demand that every woman walking in the street wear the scarf. Every woman walking!” says Nasser.
In response, the audience starts laughing before one audience member shouts out “Let him wear it!” to which Nasser smiles and laughs himself.
“[I told him] in my opinion,” continued Nasser, “every person in their own house decides for themselves their rules.”
Watch the full video at the start of the article or click here.
Comment (1)
[…] many people wear either choose to or are forced to wear hijabs for less innocent reasons. In the 1950s, Nasser famously laughed at the idea of compulsory veiling becoming law in Egypt, and the garment was effectively history by the end of the 70s. In 2007, 90% of women in Egypt wore […]