In Egypt, Car Makers Citroen Pulls Ad Amid Charges Of Promoting Harassment of Women

Citroen Citroen Pulls Ad in Egypt after social media outrage: French car manufacturer company Citroen withdrew a controversial advertisement featuring Egyptian singer and ambassador of the brand, Amr Diab after it sparked outrage on social media in Egypt. The outrage was about the advertisement promoting the harassment of women on the streets.

The advertisement was withdrawn on December 30, it was released on social media on December 3. It had been reportedly viewed over 3,000,000 times and showed the 60-year-old pop star Diab driving the car and stopping at the crossing. He was shown using the camera installed in the rearview mirror of the car to take a picture of the woman crossing the street in front of the vehicle.

The singer then looks at the pictures, which was taken without the woman's consent, and smiles. He goes on to invite the woman inside the car to join him. This advertisement was focused on the automobile company's promotion in Egypt.

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The country, Egypt, has some 90 percent of women between the age of 18 and 39 who have been reportedly harassed in 2019. This data is collected through a survey by the Arab Barometer research network.

While according to a United Nation study, 99.3 percent of Egyptian girls and women face some form of sexual harassment over their lifetime. The study also showed that 82.6 percent of women do not feel safe in the street.

The advertisement has been widely criticised on social media. A women rights activist Reel Abdellatif wrote on Twitter, "Taking a picture of a woman without her consent is creepy. You're enabling sexual harassment." People even questioned the process of the company and its ethics for approving an ad that is promoting harassment.

The pop star involved in the advertisement was also questioned for promoting such ads even after knowing the "unsafe situations" that the Egyptian women constantly face. Amr Diab is Arab's well-known artist with 13.8 million followers on Instagram and 30+ albums to his credit.