Abla Fahita is the puppet taking Egypt by storm. Currently hosting Abla Fahita Live from the Duplex, the highest rated show on CBC since the bygone era of Bassem Youssef, press freedoms, and a sense of humor, Fahita is taking on the patriarchy on Twitter with the trending Arabic hashtag, #اطلعوا_من_هدومنا ,  ‘, (etla3o men hedoumna or 'get out of our clothes') targeted at men who tell women what (not) to wear, and encouraging women to share – and not tolerate – those experiences.

Definitely not a puppet to shy away from controversy, the public ‘figure’ gained fame and notoriety after appearing in an online Vodafone advert in 2013 and subsequently being taken to court (yes, we’re still talking about a puppet). Ahmed Spider, a ‘young Egyptian activist’, officially accused Fahita of both being a British spy, and of ‘delivering coded messages to Brotherhood supporters’ and stated his intention of having the puppet imprisoned on live TV. Of course, in true Egyptian fashion, the story got more ridiculous, and both Fahita and her accuser appeared on a prime-time TV talk-show to hash it out.

Proof that any publicity is good publicity, Fahita went on to collaborate with Egyptian composer and Arab Idol judge, Hassan El-Shafei, on the viral ‘Mayestahloushi’, which hit a million YouTube views in under a week. Fahita was more recently accused by a religious cleric of somehow giving the youth ‘syphilis’. Definitely the sassiest, most non-conformist TV show host on air at the moment, Fahita has been signed for three seasons.

Check out the official YouTube channel for the show for more.

By: Noor Salama