Egypt stabbed to death for refusing his advances

Egypt: stabbed to death for refusing his advances

CAIRO | Egyptian prosecutors announced early Wednesday that they had arrested a student for the murder of a fellow student who refused his advances, two months after a similar killing sparked outrage in the country.

• Also read: Egypt: sentenced to death for murdering a student who refused his advances

• Also read: Egypt: A student was killed for refusing a man’s advances

Two weeks ago, a court requested that the execution of the killer of Nayera Achraf, a student who was stabbed outside her university in June, be broadcast live to “deter the largest possible number”.

On Tuesday, however, a 22-year-old Egyptian a few steps from the Zagazig courthouse “stabbed the victim Salma several times with a knife,” prosecutors said.

The victim, also 22 years old according to the local press, was studying journalism in this city 60 km north of Cairo.

The alleged killer now faces the death penalty in the world’s highest-ranking country in the world for killing what many Egyptians have dubbed “the new Nayera Achraf” on social media discussing the case.

For many netizens, “Salma was murdered simply because she was born a woman in a misogynistic society.” But in the conservative country, many others blame the girl who “shouldn’t have been friends with a guy.”

“As long as there are sympathizers apologizing to the perpetrators of these crimes, they will continue,” concludes another netizen.

In a country where strict Islam has steadily gained ground since the 1970s, Egyptian women say they regularly face violence and are discriminated against by the law.

According to the authorities, in 2015 nearly eight million women had suffered violence at the hands of a spouse, relative or stranger in public places.