Cairo: Egypt's first veiled newsreader on state television has drawn support from many viewers for ending an unwritten rule under ousted Hosni Mubarak that kept covered women out of the top job, although some fretted it could herald social restrictions.
Fatma Nabil appeared on television on Sunday evening wearing make-up, a smart black jacket and a beige "hijab" or veil covering her hair, the same kind of covering most women wear in Egypt but never seen on a news anchor on state TV.
"The appearance of a veiled announcer on Egyptian television for the first time is a victory for freedoms and does not diminish (freedoms) as some imagine. Is barring a veiled woman from presenting a programme freedom?" said Samih Toukan, posting a note on the subject on albawaba website.
Although some female talk show hosts on the state broadcaster have worn the hijab, Mubarak's more secular-minded authorities kept veiled women out of the prominent newsreading role on television, seen as the face of the nation....
more
12:09 PM, Sep 04, 2012
