A popular and controversial Egyptian television talk show host has been suspended from appearing in the media for a year over remarks she made on-air about obesity among Egyptian women.
Egypt’s media regulator said Reham Saeed breached professional standards by using words and phrases that were clearly offensive to women in Egypt.
Ms. Saeed’s programme on a private television channel, Al-Hayah TV, had already been suspended after saying overweight Egyptian women were “burdens to their families and the state’’.
Her remarks were in line with a recent anti-obesity drive by the Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, but they set off a storm of criticism
Ms. Saeed told her fans last week via Facebook and Instagram, that she was quitting her job as a TV anchor because of the backlash.
The National Council for Women (NCW) has filed a complaint against Saeed after she humiliated obese people in a talk show “Sabaya with Reham Saeed” on Al-Haya T.V. channel saying “obese people are dead. They are burdens on their families, burdens on the state. Fat people cause an eyesore.”
The NCW said that the talk show episode stirred Egyptian women’s resentment as it contains inappropriate phrases, calling for taking all legal required measures, according to a statement from the council.
