Egyptian pastry chef arrested after making cupcakes with penis decorations

A pasty chef was arrested by security forces in Egypt after she provided cupcakes with penis decorations for a private birthday party in a wealthy Cairo neighbourhood.

The female chef was arrested after pictures of the party and the cupcakes were shared on social media. State media reported that the baker was then identified after the authorities took statements from eyewitnesses.

She was in tears when she arrived at a prosecution office in Cairo, reports Al Masry Al Youm newspaper.

According to the newspaper, the chef told the authorities that patrons of the Gezira sporting club “came to my shop and handed me pictures of genitals, and asked me for cakes in these forms”.

After she was questioned by prosecutors, the baker was released on a bail of 5,000 EGP (£233) reports the Guardian.

Although Egypt remains more liberal than Gulf Arab states, the Muslim-majority country has taken a more Conservative direction over the past half-century.

Belly dancers, pop divas and social media influencers have faced backlash for violating the norms.

Two young woman were jailed last year for sharing “indecent” videos on TikTok.

An Egyptian judge overturned an acquittal verdict of Haneen Hossam, 20 and Mawada Eladhm, 22, on January 14 after they faced fresh charges of “human trafficking”.

Last summer, an Egyptian court of first instance sentenced Hossam and Adham along with another three women to two years in prison for “violating the values and principles of the Egyptian family”, inciting debauchery and promoting human trafficking.

The verdict came after the two women had vaulted to TikTok fame, amassing millions of followers for their video snippets set to catchy Egyptian club-pop tracks.

In their respective 15-second clips, the women wearing makeup pose in cars, dance in kitchens and joke in skits — familiar and seemingly tame content for the platform.

The two women were also fined 300,000 Egyptian pounds (around £14,000).

Their case drew the ire of Egyptian feminists who dismissed the prosecution of Hossam and Adham as another example of their conservative society’s encroachment on women’s freedoms.

At the time, women’s rights advocates circulated an online petition describing the arrests as a “systematic crackdown that targets low-income women”.

Watch: Egypt unveils 3000-year old coffins

Additional reporting by Associated Press.

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