A 25-year-old Egyptian pop singer has been detained for a week for "inciting debauchery" after a music video sparked outrage. In the music video, the singer is seen in her underwear and suggestively eating a banana.
Shaimaa Ahmed, known by her stage name Shyma, was held on Saturday by Egyptian police after her music video I Have Issues went viral and received backlash in the socially conservative country.
The video shows her "suggestively" eating fruits, pouring milk over banana, licking an apple in front of the classroom and a blackboard behind her with "Class #69" written on it.
According to security officials, prosecutors ordered the singer to be detained over the racy video clip. The video caused several complaints following which the singer was arrested for a week. Initially, she was arrested for four days, but on Monday, the public prosecutor's office extended her custody for seven days, Youm al-Sabaa reported.
Apart from Shyma's arrest, arrest warrants were also issued against the director of the music video.
Meanwhile, Shyma has apologised to all who were offended by the video. She said she was not expecting that the video will be criticised.
"I didn't imagine all this would happen and that I would be subjected to such a strong attack from everyone," Shyma wrote on her Facebook page, which has been deleted now.
"I didn't imagine all this would happen and that I would be subjected to such a strong attack from everyone, as a young singer... who has dreamt from a young age of being a singer.
Another famous singer is facing trial for "mocking Egypt." Last year, singer Sherine Abdel Wahab was asked to sing Mashrebtesh Men Nilha (Have You Drunk From The Nile?) at a concert. She replied saying, "drinking from the Nile will get me schistosomiasis ( a disease called as bilharzia)."
She also apologised for the joke last year, but on November 15, it was reported that she would face trial on December 23 on the charge of "spreading provocative publicity."
In 2016, three female dancers were arrested and sentenced to six months each for "inciting debauchery."
