Belly-Dancing Teacher Sacked From Job, Divorced By Husband; Incident Sparks Women's Rights Debate

A teacher in Egypt has been sacked over a viral video of her belly dancing during a trip. The incident has sparked public outrage and a national debate on women’s rights.

Aya Youssef was fired from her job and divorced by her husband after the video of her belly dancing surfaced on social media last week, BBC reported.

In the video, Youssef is seen wearing a long-sleeved tunic and a headscarf, while moving to the sound of music alongside a male teaching staff. She was allegedly filmed during a day trip on a Nile boat, without her permission, last month.

Even though belly dancing dates back millennia, performing it in public today is frowned upon. The video caused outrage among conservative critics on social media. Some claimed Youssef acted shamefully. "It clearly expresses the poor times we live in!! Anything is permitted," a social media user said, BBC reported.

Youssef said the video was "a transgression of [her] privacy," and that she did not dance in public or in front of students.

"My life was destroyed because of the video from an unscrupulous person who tried to tarnish my reputation and brought the camera close to me only to show me in a bad manner," Youssef said in a statement, the Egypt Independent reported.

"I really made a mistake because I was happy and played with people who were not honest. People bullied and insulted me. I lost my job, my husband, my home, and my mother got sick. My family was impacted by what happened," Youssef added.

Women’s rights activists have spoken out in support of the teacher, saying she has done nothing wrong. In solidarity with Youssef, the deputy head of another school had also posted pictures of herself dancing at her daughter’s wedding.

After Youssef was sacked, the head of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, Dr. Nihad Abu Qumsan, offered her a job in her office. She also advised Youssef to bring her contract with the education ministry so that they could file a legal complaint against her dismissal, BBC reported.

However, due to the rising pressure on the local authorities from activist groups, Youssef was rehired and transferred to a new school.

The teacher is now planning to sue the person who took the video during the trip.