Egypt’s first female ship captain was accused by trolls for obstructing the Suez Canal – in spite of being on an alternate boat many kilometers away.
Marwa Elselehdar was filling in as a first mate in charge of the Aida IV in Alexandria when the Ever Given got wedged in the canal, stopping the significant transportation course.
Yet, online reports and fake news spread the misrepresentation that she had caused the holder boat to steer into the rocks in Suez.
Tales about her job on the Ever Given were generally prodded by screen captures of a fake news – evidently distributed by Arab News – which said she was engaged with the Suez blockage episode.
The doctored picture gives off an impression of being from a certified Arab News story, delivered on 22 March, which profiles Marwa’s prosperity as Egypt’s first female boat chief. The image has been shared many occasions on Twitter and Facebook.
A few Twitter accounts under her name have additionally spread bogus cases that she was in associated with the Ever Given.
The 29-year-old said: “I felt that I may be focused on perhaps in light of the fact that I’m an effective female in this field or in light of the fact that I’m Egyptian, yet I don’t know”. However undeterred by such false allegations, she felt supported by common people and her team, she decided to continue on her passionate job of being in merchant navy. Her application was approved by Egypt’s then-President Hosni Mubarak after a legal review, and she became the first female boat captain.
“It was challenging to go through this alone and be able to overcome it without affecting my mental health.” She said that she faced sexism at every turn of her career as it is not easy to handle people with different mentalities.
She added: “People in our society still don’t accept the idea of girls working in the sea away from their families for a long time, but when you do what you love, it is not necessary for you to seek the approval of everyone.”
