Egypt: Statue Honouring Soldiers Criticised for Being Derogatory

The sculpture has a woman symbolising the country and a soldier embracing her from behind.

The sculpture which scandalized the locals of the town. (Photo: AP)

A sculpture in a province in Egypt, to honour fallen soldiers’ dedicated service towards the country, drew serious backlash from the public. It has a woman symbolising the country and a soldier embracing her. Many people on social media said it portrayed sexual harassment and appeared to depict an unwanted advance on a woman.

The concrete sculpture, titled “Mother of the Martyr,” depicts a slender peasant woman, a traditional artistic representation of Egypt, with her arms outstretched. A helmeted soldier is standing behind her, looking over her shoulder with his arms wrapped around her.

A provincial governor has ordered changes to the sculpture following complaints of residents of Sohag, where the sculpture stands at a public square but has not been formally unveiled. Sohag and other southern provinces are more conservative than the rest of the Muslim-majority country.

This protection of women’s modesty comes a few weeks after female Egyptian TV presenters were suspended for being too overweight, and were told to either “lose weight or lose their jobs.”

While women have been subject to such discrimination in the country, the controversy over the sculpture underlines the difficulties faced by artists and intellectuals there. Islamic religious conservatism in Egypt has gained much ground over the past 40-50 years, where powerful state religious institutions frequently expound a hard-line message, despite their claims to moderation.

Some critics of the Sohag statue, which stands at 8.5 meters (yards) high, said in their social media comments that the sculpture portrayed sexual harassment while others interpreted it as the country’s military seducing Egypt as represented by the peasant woman. That the sculpture stood close to a girls’ school fueled opposition.

Sohag’s governor, Ayman Abdel-Monaim, has ordered an investigation into the commissioning of the sculpture by the local council of the town of el-Belina. He said his provincial government should have been consulted before the sculpture was commissioned.

Sometimes, an artist’s vision clashes with the culture of society. If our objective is to treat citizens with respect, then we must not do anything to offend their feelings. We all respect our army and country.

Ayman Abdel-Monaim, Sohag’s Governor

The sculptor, Wagih Yani, 60, has begun modifying the sculpture, removing the soldier and placing an olive branch in the hands of the woman. White doves symbolizing peace will form a crescent over the woman’s head, he said.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Yani defended his work, rejecting any suggestions of impropriety and saying the soldier represented the “spirit of the martyr” protecting Egypt.

I remain convinced of the sculpture’s original idea and the modifications will not steer far from that. But I personally feel that it’s important to me that everyone is happy with the sculpture.

Wagih Yani, Sculptor

(With inputs from AP.)