As a feminist of Egyptian and Muslim descent, my life’s work has been informed by the belief that religion and culture must never be used to justify the subjugation of women. I can write about my culture and religion because I am a product of both. Even when I’m accused of giving ammunition to the Islamophobic right, in the struggle between “community” and “women” I always choose the women. It is exhausting that Muslim women’s voices and our bodies are reduced to proxy battlefields by the demonizers and defenders of Muslim men. Neither side cares about women. They are concerned only with one another.

Although Ismail now gets along well with the team, she says it was a real challenge at first. “I’m leading a team of men and that’s hard in a place like Luxor where women are perceived to [have a lower status] than men,” says Ismail. “I had to establish myself in a manner enabling them to perceive me [positively], and not be threatened by me as a woman, as a boss.”

'Are you happy when you see a girl walking down the street with half of her behind showing?' the lawyer asked on the Infrad Show (via Variety Alarabiya English). 'I say that when a girl walks about like that, it is a patriotic duty to sexually harass her and a national duty to rape her.'

Music is a controversial issue in Islam. While certain branches such as Sufism consider music central to their religious rituals, some conservatives consider it to be a tool of intoxication, especially songs with non-religious themes and those sung by women. The Quran, however, does not forbid music, nor does any Islamic country forbid all music.

Much of the criticism of Prince in the local media targeted her gender, dismissing her for “revealing her personal life”, and arguing that her public dancing and photos of her in a bikini were unsuitable for a professor. She remains defiant, saying that this criticism deepened her motivation to run for president.

"The phenomenon of female harassment has become scary. I used to reply to nine or 10 messages a day. Now I cannot cope - in one week, I could receive thousands of messages asking for help."