The Coptic school teacher Mervat Seifein from Beni Mazar, Minya, has for the
second time during the last two weeks been rejected by Minya students for the
explicit reason that she is Copt.
Mervat Seifein had been promoted on 8 February to school director of Beni Mazar
Secondary Girls’ School in Beni Mazar, Minya. It was a routine promotion in
which she replaced the previous school director who is a Muslim. The students
protested and held a sit-in in the school courtyard asking for her removal and that
the previous Muslim director, Gamal Abu-Bakr Muaz, should remain in office.
They were joined by a few teachers. Ramadan Abdel-Hamid, the Minya deputy to
the Education Ministry responded to the girls’ demands, upon which the students
disbanded.
Since Ms Seifein is due for promotion in her job, Mr Abdel-Hamid met her last
Saturday and offered her the post of school director of the Boys Technical School
in Beni Mazar, where she has been deputy to the headmaster since 2011. She
accepted and, on the following day, headed to school as usual, this time to act as
school director. She was stunned, however, to find the students there holding a
demonstration against her becoming school director, on account of her being a
Copt. “We don’t want a Copt,” they cheered. The police were not able to disband
the boys’ demonstration in the school courtyard.
Ms Seifein is both furious and surprised. She told Watani that the Education
Directorate’s compliance with the demands of the Beni Mazar Secondary Girls’
School’s students has undermined the State of law and encouraged others to follow
suite in their challenge of the law. Seifein said that ever since her appointment as
school deputy in 2011 she enjoyed very good relations with the school teachers and
students. “The girls who demonstrated against me don’t know me,” she said, “so
why the antagonism? Simply because I am Coptic? The only explanation I can
fathom is there has been fanatic incitement going on against my promotion,
possibly by persons who are purely extremist or who have an interest in keeping
me out of that post.”
Magdy Melek, MP for Minya, said the incident borders on dark comedy. “It is still
an isolated case,” Mr Melek said, “But, left unchecked, it threatens to undermine
the legitimate opportunity of Copts to government jobs or promotions. Such
sedition should be nipped in the bud, otherwise the State stands to lose all dignity
and authority.”
Ezzat Ibrahim, a Minya activist, demanded that a prompt official investigation be
conducted into the matter. “This is flagrant religious discrimination,” Mr Ibrahim
says. “It brings to mind the incident in the southern province of Qena when the
Islamists rose against the appointment of a Coptic governor in the past-Arab
Spring weeks in 2011, and the State gave in and went back on the appointment.
“It is catastrophic that some 50 or 100 teenage girls or boys should impose their
will on the State. And it is equally disastrous that these students were pushed to do
so by a group of fanatic Islamists. The positive official response to their
preposterous demands amounts to an invitation for religious discrimination. The
deputy minister who did that must be dismissed.”
The photo shows Seifien with Watani’s Shukry
Watani International
29 February 2016
