Georgette Eastawi Criticizes Social Media Posts Insulting Graduates of Nuns’ Schools in Egypt

Georgette Eastawi, an engineer who serves as secretary of the Secretariat for Freedom and director of the Strategic Studies Centre of the Social Liberal Party, has criticized posts published on Facebook by Wael al-Sadidiqui, a director who had previously been stripped of Egyptian nationality. According to the report, the posts included offensive references to graduates of nuns’ schools.

The dispute began with a video comparing the education offered at Azhari institutions with the education offered at nuns’ schools. The video referred to a case involving a child, which the source does not describe in further detail. In a separate video, a comment from the same account addressed graduates of nuns’ schools and linked them, in a mocking tone, to insulting descriptions and imagery that the report says damaged their reputation and dignity. Eastawi’s objection centred on the language used about the graduates, not only on the question of which schools are better.

On her Facebook page, Eastawi said she was angered by language she considered offensive to nuns and to graduates of Christian schools, and said it went beyond legitimate criticism of educational institutions. She objected to turning the reputation of graduates and the dignity of nuns into controversial content to attract interaction. She also questioned the link between the child’s case and accusations against nuns’ schools, arguing that one specific matter should not be used to justify broad attacks on educational institutions or their graduates.

Eastawi asked what role the competent authorities had in responding to such material, and what action could be taken against accounts that spread content that might involve legal violations. She said her own page had received similar comments from several different accounts, and she described these as systematic attempts to influence interaction and silence those who oppose abuse.

The report also addresses al-Sadidiqui’s citizenship status. Cabinet Decision No. 44 of 2024, published in the Official Gazette on 12 August 2024, approved the revocation of his Egyptian nationality on the stated ground that he had been naturalized without prior authorization, under the Egyptian Nationality Act No. 26 of 1975. The source notes that the decision was issued more than two years before the current dispute, and that the revocation was unrelated to the present controversy. Eastawi, who was appointed to her party post under administrative decision No. 55 of 2024, has in recent years called for abuses to be investigated and for those responsible to be held accountable under the law.

Eastawi’s position, as the report presents it, separates the investigation of any abuse of a child and the accountability of the specific person responsible from general judgments against nuns’ schools, their employees, or their graduates. A previous case at one institution, she argued, does not prove similar irregularities at others, and no specific facts had been attributed to the graduates who were criticized. Judging a whole group without specific facts is a matter of truth and fairness (Proverbs 18:17). She maintained that the protection of children and the accountability of wrongdoers do not depend on the religion of the accused, the victim, or the institution involved.

The report found no official, documented announcement of new legal procedures linked to the posts about graduates of nuns’ schools. It also found no documented response from al-Sadidiqui to Eastawi’s criticism. Her demand that the content be removed, or that its author be held accountable, does not by itself mean that any formal decision has been made. Any assessment of a legal offence rests with the competent authorities, and the handling of accounts and publications is also subject to digital platform policies.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Arabic)