In America, progressive feminists often speak out against toxic masculinity. But in Egypt, women, especially Christian women, live with its brutal reality.
Julia Atef, 21, never made it to church on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 26. No one has heard from her since she left her family’s home on the outskirts of Cairo, headed to a meeting at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church. In my native country, Coptic Christians remain a target of persecution; hundreds of young women have been kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, and coerced into marriage.
While many Western feminists remain focused on domestic issues, they are often silent on the grave threats faced by women abroad.
In a population of 110 million, there are 10 to 15 million Copts, the largest Christian community in the Middle East. This community has endured both spectacular violence and day-to-day prejudice.
On Palm Sunday in 2017, 44 worshipers died in the bombing of two Coptic churches. Islamic extremists burn Coptic homes and ambush buses carrying visitors to monasteries. Growing up in Minya, a mid-sized city in southern Egypt, I recall family from Cairo pointing out job listings that read, “Christians need not apply.” At school, the more religious teachers would use sticks to beat me and my Coptic peers on our wrists, where we proudly wore Coptic cross tattoos.
Kidnapping, followed by forced conversion and marriage, also poses a perennial threat. In 2012, the U.S. Helsinki Commission heard testimony to the effect that there had been 550 abductions and disappearances over a period of five years. In its 2020 report, “Jihad of the Womb,” U.S.-based nonprofit group Coptic Solidarity estimated there had been 500 cases over the previous decade in which “elements of coercion were used that amount to trafficking.” Yet, Egyptian officials often insist the forced marriages are genuine and refuse to intervene. CS estimates there were 12 kidnappings in the first half of 2023.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi professes to be an advocate of interfaith toleration, yet the Coptic community lacks confidence in the state. Several years ago, a Coptic bishop in Los Angeles said local authorities in Egypt turn a blind eye to persecution. Girls may be snatched from public spaces at any time — on their way home from school, while waiting for the bus, or running errands.
Julia Atef’s case is not unique.
Earlier this year, 21-year-old medical student Irene Ibrahim Shehata disappeared in Asyut, Egypt. Her father said he reported her disappearance, but police claimed she had willingly run off with a Muslim man. The family later tracked Shehata to the southern city of Sohaj, only to encounter police resistance.
“The police officers threatened to arrest the family if they tried to rescue her and warned them that the kidnappers are armed,” an anonymous source recounted. Weeks later, Egypt’s electronic records showed that Shehata’s religion on her national ID card had been changed from “Christian” to “Muslim.” As of Sept. 4, Irene was still in captivity, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, a nonprofit organization that promotes religious freedom.
In August 2023, 25-year-old graduate student Mariam Samir Fayez was taken en route to a bus station in Cairo. Her family filed a report, but no action was taken. Days later, a video surfaced showing Fayez in a hijab, reciting the Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith, under the supervision of an Islamist preacher. Fortunately, Fayez was rescued and returned to her family a few days later.
The reality is grim for many Coptic women who do not escape their captors, leaving their families in agony for months, or even years. A culture of impunity ensures that not many return home, and the authorities continue to look the other way.
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The State Department briefly mentioned the problem of abduction in its 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom, yet it described the Coptic community as grateful to the Egyptian government for helping to find and return several victims. The department’s annual reports on human rights and human trafficking do not mention Coptic women in their sections on Egypt.
The next editions of those reports should do better, and the secretary of state should raise the issue directly with Sisi at their next meeting. Under U.S. law, a portion of the $1.3 billion in military aid that Egypt receives each year is contingent on Cairo’s efforts to improve its record on human rights. When the next review of Cairo’s record begins, the safety of Coptic women should be front and center.
Mariam Wahba is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow her on X @themariamwahba.