Egypt’s first female captain
The Egyptian woman captain is Marwa Elselehdar.
After news broke last month that the Longchamp had blocked the canal and disrupted traffic on the river, Marwa Elselehdar realized that something was not quite right. When she opened her phone, she found rumors circulating online that she was to blame.
Isranda said she was “shocked” by it.
As Egypt’s first female captain, she was serving as first officer on board the Aida IV in Alexandria, hundreds of kilometers away.
The ship is owned by the Egyptian Maritime Security Authority and is responsible for supplying a lighthouse in the Red Sea. It is also used to train cadets for the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), a local university of the Arab League.
Where did the rumors come from?
Marwa says she has turned her anger into gratitude.
The rumors about Marwa Isranda’s involvement in the Suez Canal were mainly due to a screenshot of a fake news headline (allegedly reported by Arab News) that linked her to the Suez Canal accident.
The doctored image was in fact taken from a true story reported by Arab News on March 22 about Marwa’s success as the first female captain of an Egyptian ship. Instead, the caption was falsified to claim she had something to do with the Suez Canal blockage.
The image has since been shared dozens of times on social media Twitter and Facebook. At the same time, several Twitter accounts under her name were spreading false news about her involvement in the blockage of the Chang Chi.
Marwa Islam, 29, told BBC reporter Joshua Cheetham that she didn’t know who first spread the story or why they did it.
Marwa Isranda said she was targeted perhaps because she is a successful woman in this field; or because she is Egyptian, but she could not be sure exactly why.
Gender discrimination and challenges
The cargo ship “Chang Chi” stuck in the Suez Canal
In fact, this is not the first time Marwa Isranda has faced a dilemma in a largely male dominated industry.
According to the International Maritime Organization, women currently make up only 2 percent of the world’s seafarers.
Marwa says she has always loved the sea and was inspired to join the merchant marine after her older brother was accepted into the AASTMT. Although the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport was only accepting male students at the time, she applied anyway.
Her application was approved after a legal review by then-Egyptian President Mubarak.
During her studies, Marwa said she encountered gender discrimination at every turn. She said the ship was filled with older men who thought completely differently. As a result, it was difficult to find like-minded people to interact with.
Marwa also said it was very challenging to face it all alone and to overcome it without letting it affect her mental health.
Marwa explained that she lives in a society where people still don’t accept women leaving their homes to work at sea for long periods of time. But when you love what you do, she says, you don’t have to seek everyone’s permission.
The youngest female captain of the Suez Canal
After graduating, Marwa was promoted to first officer and became the captain of the first ship to sail the Aida IV through the new Suez Canal after it was expanded in 2015.
Marwa was also the first youngest female Egyptian captain to cross the Suez Canal at that time.
She was also honored by Egyptian President Sisi during Egyptian Women’s Day celebrations in 2017.
When rumors emerged that she had caused a blockage in the Suez Canal, she was concerned about the impact on her job.
Marwa said the fake news was written in English and circulated outside of Egypt.
She said she did everything she could to dispel the rumors because it would affect her reputation and all her efforts to get where she is today.
Marwa said some of the comments were very negative and harsh. But there were also many supportive comments from ordinary people and her colleagues, which encouraged her.
“I decided to just focus on the support and love I received so that my anger turned into gratitude,” she said.
She added that it is especially noteworthy that her visibility has instead grown higher because of the gossip.
Next month, Marva will take her final exam to turn into a captain. She hopes she can continue to be a role model for women in the industry.
To all women who wish to work in the maritime field, I would say this: fight for what you love and don’t let any negativity get to you,” Marwa said.
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