Egypt’s Al-Azhar university on Monday overturned a decision to expel a female student who was filmed hugging a male colleague, after the country’s top Muslim cleric intervened in her favour.
In a video widely circulated earlier this month, a man was seen carrying a bouquet of flowers kneeling before a woman and then hugging her in what was to be a marriage proposal.
Al-Azhar decided on Saturday to expel the young woman, but two days later the institution’s grand imam, Ahmed al-Tayeb, urged the disciplinary board to “reconsider the punishment”.
Tayeb cited the student’s young age and her educational future, although he said her conduct outside campus was “unacceptable” and unbecoming for “religious and oriental traditions”.
Al-Azhar is the most prestigious seat of Sunni Islamic learning in Egypt.
Following an urgent meeting on Monday, the disciplinary board scrapped its earlier decision and instead ruled that the student should be prevented for taking the first half of her exams.
The reversal came after the student “expressed deep regret for what was done, and pledged to abide by the students ethics and the values of society,” according to a statement.
The viral video was not shot at Al-Azhar, but at the Mansoura University in northern Egypt where the man filmed is a student.
He was expelled for two years over the footage, university spokesman Hany Helal said, although he can appeal the decision.
On Sunday the young man was interviewed by telephone by a prominent television talk show host on channel MBC Masr, and said that he had brought the bouquet of flowers to propose to the woman.
“We were supposed to be engaged but after what happened her parents are refusing this completely,” said the young man, a first year law student who was identified only by his first name Mahmoud.
Egypt, a predominantly Muslim country, is a largely conservative society.
Al-Azhar is touted as standing for Islamic moderation, but critics often accuse the institution of failing to modernise its teachings in order to counter extremism.
Pakistan’s tallest man – who stands at a whopping 8FT high – has admitted he is struggling to find love due to his size.
At just 23, Zia Rashid is only three inches shy of the world record for the tallest man on earth.
But Zia, from Multan, said he has been unable to find a life partner who is tall enough for him.
“I’ve not been able to find my life partner so far. I’ve not found someone who is tall enough for me. It is almost impossible,” Zia says. “Also, my family has struggled to find a match for me. They took my marriage proposal to several families but no one showed interest in me. Personally, I’ve stopped thinking about it.”
Apart from finding love, the young man is also facing lot of other problems as well – looking for clothes that fit, shoes of his size and even being able to travel in local buses.
“I can’t find ready made clothes of my size in the market,” he says. “A tailor makes clothes for me and I have to order shoes from Karachi.”
He adds: “The biggest problem for me is I can’t travel on public buses. I can’t sit in the seats because there is not enough leg space in public buses.”
Zia says he was of a normal height during his childhood but things changed at the age of 10.
“At the age of 10, suddenly my height started increasing. My whole body became weak,” he says. “Doctors said that the weakness was due to calcium deficiency and advised me to eat calcium rich food. But within a year, I became tallest person in our family.”
ia has not been able to find a job so far but is hopeful the local government will recognise his uniqueness and offer him a government job.
Though he has faced a lot of problems due to his height, it has also made him very popular as well.
Over the years, he has been invited to several private events in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and has recently received an invitation from Zimbabwe as well.
He adds: “Despite all the odds, I feel proud of my height. I feel proud that I’m different from others. It gives me a lot of happiness that because of my height people come and take selfies with me. I get a lot of love and attention from people and that makes me feel proud.”
Winning a beauty pageant should be a moment of joy, but Miss Algeria Khadija Ben Hamou, from the country’s vast desert south, was immediately targeted online for her dark skin colour.
Ben Hamou, 26, is the first southerner to win the title that leads to a shot at the Miss World crown.
More than 75 per cent of Algerians live in the north, with most prominent figures in public life being lighter skinned northerners. Only one government minister is dark skinned.
Some southerners feel excluded from development in comparison with northerners, despite the region, bordering Mali and Niger, being rich in oil and gas and providing 95 per cent of Algeria’s revenue.
As footage of the contest spread on social media, trolls branded her “ugly” and told her “shame on you”, although some applauded her beauty, saying it represented “Algeria’s diversity”.
Ben Hamou, from Adrar, some 1,000 km south of the capital Algiers, dismissed the criticism.
“Algeria is a big country, east, west, north and south. We represent the country. I won the contest and I want to say to those who criticized me, Allah blesses you,” the restaurant worker told Reuters.
“I hope I will be a good representative of the people of the south,” she said.
Said Hamdad Faysal, from the Miss Algeria contest organizers and sponsor, said Ben Hamou had passed through 20 rounds to win the contest.
She will go on tour to promote charity programs, he said.
A Pakistani man, who ‘fell in love’ with a 13-year-old girl forced into becoming a sex worker by another Pakistani in Dubai, has saved her from a life of prostitution, according to The Khaleej Times.
The 25-year-old admitted to having sex with the minor several times “with her consent”.
He reported the girl’s plight to the authorities, which led to her rescue.
The court of first instance heard that another Pakistani man, 49, brought the 13-year-old to the country, after claiming to be her father, and forced her into selling her body.
He ‘raped’ the girl and then assaulted her with a stick every time she refused to have sexual intercourse with him.
The accused man would run a brothel in Abu Hail in Dubai and was arrested along with two of his countrywomen, who also face prostitution charges.
He is facing charges of human trafficking, running a brothel, molestation and facilitating paid sex for the other two women.
The case was reported in September 2018. According to court records, the girl told prosecutors that the accused forced her into prostitution back home two years ago.
He then issued a visit visa for her and brought her to the country, claiming she was his daughter. The girl was forced to have sex with “11 men of different nationalities” every day for money.
“He raped me back home and here [in the UAE] too. He hit me with a stick every time I refused to have sex with him,” the girl told prosecutors.
The 25-year-old defendant, was a customer at the brothel, fell in love with the girl and promised to marry her.
He reported the girl’s plight to the police after he received a text message from her brother, who resides in Pakistan, requesting for help.
The police raided the place and arrested the two women, both aged 23, who admitted to working as prostitutes.
They also corroborated the girl’s rape claims. They said the brothel’s owner approached the girl while he was drunk and wanted to have sex with her.
He assaulted her when she refused. Both women admitted that the accused paid Pakistani Rs200,000 to their families to bring them to the UAE.
The 49-year-old denied rape charges but admitted to consuming alcohol.
He also admitted he brought the teenager to the country for prostitution and facilitated paid sex for the other two women.
Forensic reports showed bruises on the young girl’s body.
