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Egyptian female ship captain falsely blamed for Suez Canal crisis

Elselehdar successfully piloted a ship through the Suez Canal in 2015, becoming the youngest and first female Egyptian to navigate the waterway.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Egypt’s first-ever female ship captain is speaking out after online rumors swirled that she was responsible for the Suez Canal crisis.

Captain Marwa Elselehdar was working as a first mate in command of the Aida IV in Alexandria, some 300 kilometers away from the Suez Canal, when she first noticed her name popping up online in connection to the blockage.

Doctored stories, in which users edited legitimate news articles to make it appear as though Elselehdar had been aboard the Ever Given, spread like wildfire.

Elselehdar had received pushback from Egyptian society for her decision to pursue naval education, but said she wasn’t sure why someone chose to promote this false narrative about her.

“I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I’m a successful female in this field or because I’m Egyptian, but I’m not sure,” she told the BBC.

Users were quick to respond to the fake news blaming Elselehdar for the Ever Given’s breach, leaving nasty comments implying that letting women pilot ships would lead to further catastrophes.

But Elselehdar decided to embrace the positive side of the publicity. A local celebrity before the Suez Canal crisis for becoming the first Egyptian female ship captain, Elselehdar said she “became even more famous than before.”

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“The comments on the article were very negative and harsh but there were so many other supportive comments from ordinary people and people I work with,” she said. “I decided to focus on all the support and love I’m getting, and my anger turned to gratefulness.”

Elselehdar was trained at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), receiving special permission from then-Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to attend the previously male-only institution.

She successfully piloted a ship through the Suez Canal in 2015, becoming the youngest and first female Egyptian to navigate the waterway.