Egypt's First Female Captain Was Falsely Blamed For The Suez Canal Blockage. Here's Why

The blockage of the Suez Canal did not just fuel the interest of many people from all over the world, but also led to the spread of fake news that falsely blamed the blockage on Egypt's first female ship captain.

All eyes were on the Suez Canal last week as the efforts to free the MV Ever Given from its banks were underway. Hundreds of ships were stalled for days, costing millions of dollars each day.

While this was happening, a screenshot of a supposed report from Arab News blaming 29-year-old Marwa Elselehdar for the blockage surfaced on Twitter and Facebook. But Elselehdar, who is considered as Egypt's first female sea captain, was actually on another ship, the Aida IV, which was hundreds of miles away at the time of the blockage.

So why was she getting blamed for something she had no involvement in?

It might have been an "organized smear campaign" against Arab women, Elselehdar said as per Maritime Executive. The evidence, according to her, was the fact that three of the fake accounts that used her name amassed 20,000 followers within just a few hours.

Fake News

The image used on the fake news screenshot was from an actual report from Arab News, USA Today noted. However, it was a report on Elselehdar and her success as the nation's first female ship captain and was published days before the incident.

Online trolls changed the flattering headline from "Marwa Elselehdar: Egypt's first female sea captain is riding waves of success" to "Cargo ship crashes into Suez canal. First female Lloyd Arab captain involved in the incident."

Multiple fake accounts under her name were also created, making it even more difficult for her to reveal the truth.

Elselehdar told BBC News that she does not know who might have been behind the fake news that apparently spread to other countries as well since the headline was in English.

"I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I'm a successful female in this field or because I'm Egyptian, but I'm not sure," she told the outlet.

"People in our society still don't accept the idea of girls working in the sea away from their families for a long time," she added. "But when you do what you love, it is not necessary for you to seek the approval of everyone."

Egypt Today called out the fake post, saying that it "derogates Arab women's ability to work as sea captains."

Male-Dominated Industry

Elselehdar was the first Egyptian woman to study at her academy's Department of Maritime Transport and Technology, USA Today said. When she graduated in 2013, she was the only woman in the class of 1,200.

The struggle she recently faced because of the fake news was not the first one, BBC News said, noting that she had also faced "sexism at every turn" while she was still studying.

Still, she persevered, and by 2015, Elselehdar became the first mate and captained the Aida IV when it became the first vessel to pass through the expanded Suez Canal. Then in 2017, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi also honored her during Egypt's Women's Day, BBC News said.

Elselehdar, however, is one of the very few women in the industry. In fact, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) noted that even today, women represent only 2% of 1.2 million seafarers in the world. Among the females, 94% work in the cruise industry.

The IMO does have a gender program that aims to increase female representation in what is, even today, a male-dominated industry.

"There is ample evidence that investing in women is the most effective way to lift communities, companies, and even countries," IMO said. "The evidence is clear: equality for women means progress for all."

This may be a little harder for some industries and some countries than others, however. Egypt, for instance, ranks quite low in terms of gender equality, USAID said, citing that in the 2015 Global Gender Gap Index, Egypt ranked 136 out of 145 countries.

'Fight For What You Love'

Although she received some rather nasty comments because of the fake news, she also received some encouraging ones. Some also expressed their support for Elselehdar and called out "trolling culture."

As for Elselehdar, despite what she experienced, her focus appears to remain the same: achieving her goal. In fact, she is already close to becoming a full captain as she is set to take her final exam soon.

"My message to females who want to be in the maritime field is fight for what you love and not let any negativity to affect you," Elselehdar said.