Egyptian president President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has been accused of 'fat shaming' his population after telling television producers to prevent 'obese' presenters or guests from being broadcast on air.
The former general complained about the number of overweight Egyptians he has seen on the streets and suggested physical education should be a core subject in school and university.
After his controversial broadcast, el-Sissi rode on a bicycle to the military academy on the outskirts of Cairo to address recruits. He said recruits would not be able to graduate unless they reached a minimum fitness standard.
Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, pictured, has criticised people in his country for being obese claiming they should exercise more
The former general told military recruits they would not be able to graduate from the academy unless they achieve a minimum level of fitness
However, critics of the Egyptian leader accused him of being an elitist, claiming much of the obesity is down to poverty and an increase in the price of fruit and vegetables.
It is suggested el-Sissi's economic reforms have made cheaper junk food more attractive than fresh produce which has increased in price.
A survey by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in 2017 found that one in three Egyptians is obese.
It found 35 percent of adults - some 19 million people in the country of 100 million - are obese, again the world's highest rate, as well as 10.2 percent of Egyptian children, or around 3.6 million.
El-Sissi, who often tells Egyptians they must buckle down and accept hardships to get through hard times, said they must change their habits to shed the fat.
The controversial leader said: 'The second I walk into any place I look at things you cannot possibly imagine I would notice; and I ask myself "what is this? Who are these people? Why are these people not looking after themselves?"'
He derided Egyptians for not walking enough and, laughing, turned to his prime minister - seated next to him - and told him not to put on weight.
Egypt's pro-government media prominently trumpeted his comments. Parliament, packed by his supporters, has said it intends to introduce legislation making physical education part of the core curriculum at schools. Similarly, his education minister said students taking a 10-stop ride on the Cairo metro should get off two stops early and walk to their destination as a form of exercise.
In social media, possibly the only platform of relatively free speech left in Egypt, the response was more critical. Some said el-Sissi was removed from reality or speaks his mind without weighing his words first. A flood of jokes spilled forth on Twitter and Facebook, playing on the risks of being too fat under a president whose security forces have arrested thousands in a widespread crackdown against dissent.
An academic survey found one in three Egyptians were obese, although experts suggest this may be due to the high cost of fruit and vegetables in the country
One joke that went viral told of people in a car sucking in their bellies as they approached a police checkpoint. Another has a man asking to hide at a friend's house from police until he loses weight. In another, a man informs on his overweight wife to authorities on the phone.
Political analyst Amar Ali Hassan said the comments 'laid bare a great deal of elitism'.
He continued: 'They are symptomatic of an authoritarian ruler who's convinced he's on a mission, that he alone knows what is in the public interest while everyone else is ignorant of the lofty goals in his head.'
Since taking office in 2014, el-Sissi has depicted himself as trying to refashion Egypt into a prosperous, stable and modern nation. But he has made sure there is no one influential or brave enough to question any of his policies or offer alternatives.
He once angrily told Egyptians to listen to him alone and shouted down a lawmaker who suggested delaying the lifting of subsidies. This month, he declared he did not allow feasibility studies to be the deciding factor on the multi-billion-dollar projects he has embarked on.
Some of his policies have seen successes. The country is slowly recovering from the economic slump it suffered in the years after a 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Security has improved.
But el-Sissi has also sought to quash any opposition, jailing thousands of Islamists along with secular pro-democracy activists, silencing critics in the media, reversing freedoms won in the 2011 uprising and winning a second term in office this year after authorities jailed potentially serious challengers or intimidated them out of the race.
Some longtime el-Sissi critics commended him for drawing attention to the need to fight obesity. But they pointed out that Egypt's poor majority cannot afford to eat healthy when a diet of sugar and carbs is cheaper.
Human rights lawyer Mohamed Zaree said el-Sissi needs to enable Egyptians to lose weight rather than ordering them to exercise.
'He needs to make healthy food available at low prices, set up venues where people can exercise and allow emergency obesity operations to be performed under the cover of the state's medical care system.'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/25/president-of-egypt-is-accused-of-fat-shaming/
Main photo article Egyptian president President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has been accused of ‘fat shaming’ his population after telling television producers to prevent ‘obese’ presenters or guests from being broadcast on air.
The former general complained about the number of overweight ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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