A boy in an Egyptian kindergarten hugged and kissed a girl in class with him, and all social media hell broke loose.
A WhatsApp (voice note) fight broke out between the mother of the little girl and the father of the little boy.
The online confrontation was leaked to YouTube and quickly became a topic everybody in Cairo had an opinion about.
So what's all the fuss about? Well it has a lot to do with conflicting ideologies.
Round 1
The mother of the little girl addressed her complaint to the boy's mother, claiming that she had spoken to her about this seemingly recurring issue before.
She made it clear that both she and her husband are conservative Muslims and do not participate in the intermingling of the sexes, boasting proudly that neither of her elder children interact with the opposite sex, and that she would not accept otherwise for her youngest daughter.
She also threatened that her son, a child in grade 5, would beat up this little boy if nothing is done to resolve the situation.
Round 2
The little boy's father responded to the angry and accusatory voice note with this statement: "He who owns a goat, should keep it tied," adding that his son has every right to kiss whomever he pleases.
So, not only did he compare a little girl to a farm animal, he affirmed his son's entitlement and also questioned the little girl's morals.
So many layers of wrong we don't even know where to begin. Luckily, the internet took over.
Some downplayed the incident as nothing more than hot tempered parents. Others stayed true to Egyptian form, and many, many jokes ensued.
"-Hey you, sir! Why don't you discipline your son?!
-My son can kiss whoever he wants...you should tie up your goat! #tieupthegoat"
"I've been sitting all this time trying to figure out how to tie up my goat!!!"
"Do not give me a tied goat, rather teach me how to tie up a goat.. - Confucius"
This comedian took to the streets to Cairo to ask passersby what their thoughts were on the topic
This guy delivered an entire scenario ... Props and all!
"Im going to the nursery now, please don't mention any of this on the WhatsApp group! Everybody is already talking about us! I'll call you back when I pick her up.
*holding a goat* What a scandal! You've brought our family shame! You cheap, easy girl! All this and you're only in KG 1, what will you do when you're in highschool?"
And some found this dialogue much more worrying.
Amr Mostafa Sokkar quoted the two parents before dealing a final blow.
-My son can kiss whomever he pleases, and whoever owns a goat should keep it tied.
-I wear the niqab, my husband is bearded and my daughter doesn't play with boys.
Honestly, from these two statements I can pick out at least 12 psychological issues ... All that's missing from this conversation is FGM and we'd have a masterpiece."
Abdelrahman Ashraf writes:
"I'm seeing a lot of discrimination in this situation. Most people are mocking the mother and nobody has criticized the boy's father. If anything, most people are praising his ability to shut down the woman's complaint with a simple statement. Nobody has taken offense with the fact that he has likened the little girl to a goat or how rude he is, in general. The mother did not insult anybody and was speaking in defense of her ethics, whether you agree with her moral standpoint or not. I do not support her view of restricting the intermingling of the sexes, and I do not see the point in her mentioning that she wears the niqab in a situation like this, because it does not prove she is better than anybody else. If this child were my daughter, I definitely would not handle the situation in the same manner she did. Truth be told, all I am seeing from people is a discriminatory reaction to this situation, no less backward than the mother's reaction, and no less rude than the father's reaction. How the father responded is proof that he is a harasser through and through, and it is proof that our country is discriminatory by nature. This is something that truly disgusts me. "
Even Egyptian TV shows picked up this trending topic. Moatez ElDemerdash hosted a mental heath consultant on his show, 90 Minutes, to analyze the parents' interaction. But first, he could not help but comment on the nature of the discussion as being totally inappropriate.
"The father's response was completely unreasonable! What do you mean 'tie up your goat'? What do you mean your son can kiss whoever he wants?! You say 'if she were a decent girl she wouldn't have let your son kiss her, and that she would've gone to complain to the teacher,' and then you end it all with 'assalamu 3alaikom w ra7met allah'? No! No! I'm sorry! I don't want to be supporting or against anybody, but this mother has every right to defend her daughter and to defend the way she chooses to raise her daughter."
So, what are your thoughts on this issue?