Egypt threatens to jail parents who give their kids ‘Western’ Names

The Egyptian authorities on Tuesday, announced it was considering a ban on parents who gives their children “Western” names, with a possible jail sentence of at least six months for offenders.

A draft law banning the use of ‘foreign names’ like “Mark”, “Lara” and “Sam” was introduced by one of Egypt’s 588 MPs, MP Bedier Abdel Aziz and discussed by his country’s parliament on Tuesday.

Egyptian parliament.

Advocates of the policy claim that a spread of American and European names in new generations will divorce Egyptians from their “true identity”.

 

Abdel Aziz said the punishment for disobeying the law should be a fine of between about £40 and £220 or a maximum jail sentence of six months. 

“Using such Western names and abandoning Arabic ones will lead to an undesired and radical change in our society and culture.

“Our sons will no longer be connected to their true identity,” he was reported as saying in The Egypt Independent. 

If the ban finally puts in place, Egypt would not be alone in operating a ban on certain names. In 2014,  Saudi Arabia banned 50 names, including Linda, Sandy, and Alice.

The draft law has however, been criticized by social media users who, citing it as a baseless matter that the Parliament should not discuss.