A post by former doctor and filmmaker Omnia Sweidan described alleged abuses against patients that she said she witnessed in the obstetrics and gynaecology department at Alexandria\u2019s El-Shatby University Hospital during her internship six years earlier. Her account included bullying, sexual harassment, violence during childbirth, unnecessary interventions without consent and threats to withhold care.<\/p>\n
Sweidan\u2019s account.<\/a><\/p>\n The post prompted a wave of testimonies on Egyptian social media about obstetric violence by healthcare providers. The term encompasses violations of women\u2019s bodily autonomy, dignity and rights, including physical or verbal abuse, lack of informed consent, and neglect during pregnancy and childbirth.<\/p>\n On 16 June 2026, Sweidan was arrested at her home in Damanhour. Rights and feminist circles expressed alarm as contact with her was lost for hours and her whereabouts were unknown. Hashtags asking where she was and demanding her freedom circulated.<\/p>\n The following day, she appeared before the East Alexandria prosecution and faced accusations of publishing false news on Facebook and misusing her account. Prosecutors later said the investigation followed a complaint from the lawyer representing Alexandria University Hospitals. She was released on EGP 20,000 bail pending the case, according to her lawyer, Mohamed Ramadan Abu Baybars.<\/p>\n Her lawyer\u2019s announcement of release.<\/a><\/p>\n Sixteen rights organisations, initiatives and political parties, alongside public figures, called for unconditional release and the dropping of charges. They described her detention as a violation of expression and demanded an independent, transparent investigation into her testimony, with protection against retaliation for women and healthcare workers reporting abuse.<\/p>\n Human-rights lawyer Azza Soliman says the charges send a damaging message to anyone considering reporting violations. What happened could be understood as an attempt to silence witnesses and whistleblowers.<\/p>\n \u201cPursuing people who speak about abuses instead of seriously investigating the reported events may create fear among victims and witnesses and discourage them from giving testimony or making complaints,\u201d she tells Zawia3. Protecting witnesses and reporters is essential to uncovering violations and holding those responsible accountable.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Gawaher al-Taher, director of the Egyptian Centre for Women\u2019s Rights\u2019 access-to-justice programme, says the episode raises questions about authorities\u2019 handling of healthcare-abuse reports. Investigation of the accounts should have taken precedence over action against the person who disclosed them.<\/p>\n She says the lawyer who submitted a report explained during the investigation that Sweidan was a witness to the alleged events rather than an accused person, and that the aim was to investigate those events.<\/p>\n \u201cThe authorities could have formed fact-finding committees, listened to women describing their experiences, and reviewed records from the period the doctor identified,\u201d al-Taher tells Zawia3. That would help establish a more accurate picture.<\/p>\n Obstetric violence is not new, she says, but sensitivity surrounding childbirth and the difficulty of discussing abuse have long kept it outside public debate. The centre has received complaints over many years about verbal humiliation, reprimands and inhumane treatment in delivery rooms.<\/p>\n The issue is not confined to one hospital. Following Sweidan\u2019s post, women described different forms of mistreatment in public and private hospitals across governorates. Al-Taher calls for these accounts to be treated as indicators requiring inquiry, rather than isolated personal stories.<\/p>\n Detention did not stop the testimonies. Dr Alaa Walid Ghorab posted allegations about events during her training at El-Shatby, including humiliating treatment during miscarriage or childbirth and reprimands or neglect while women were in pain or bleeding.<\/p>\n Ghorab alleged that a doctor tied a woman\u2019s fallopian tubes during a miscarriage procedure without a clear medical justification. She also described what she considered an error during a hysterectomy, saying an ovary fell into the abdominal cavity before being repositioned. These remain allegations reported by the doctor.<\/p>\n\n