Two Egyptian women with large social media followings, Mowada al-Adham and Haneen Hossam, were arrested in April and May, respectively, for “spreading pornographic content online” after they used the social media platform TikTok to share videos of themselves dancing while fully clothed, N12 reported on Saturday.
Hossam, who usually wears a head covering and is a university student, has over 700,000 followers on Instagram. She was charged when she told her audience it is possible to make money on TikTok, which is true as companies might pay influencers to try products in hopes of increasing sales. She was allowed to pay bail and leave prison, but her court case is moving forward.
Adham became famous for her satirical clips that show her dancing. Due to her more Western clothes, she is still in prison and was charged with offending the values of the Egyptian family, The Guardian reported.
The arrests caused a wave of hateful comments on the two women’s social media accounts, including one saying that “ISIS should murder you” directed at Adham.