Aliaa Magda Elmahdy

Who is Aliaa Magda Elmahdy?

Aliaa Magda Elmahdy is an Egyptian internet activist and women's rights advocate. Elmahdy publicly challenged Egypt's social structures. She became known for publishing a nude photo on her Blogspot page, which she described on Facebook as "screams against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy". Since then she became a subject of several death threats. A student of the American University of Cairo, Elmahdy describes herself as a "secular, liberal, feminist, vegetarian, individualist Egyptian" and has identified as an atheist since turning 16. In 2013, Elmahdy sought political asylum in Sweden for fear of being jailed, after being kidnapped and receiving death threats, and escaping a rape attempt.