Egypt's first female ship captain Marwa Elselehdar blamed for Suez Canal blockage: Report

Elselehdar feared that the rumours about her role in the Suez blockage would impact her work

Women across borders are often forced to battle sexism irrespective of their accomplishments. This time, as the giant container ship Ever Given crashed into a bank of a single-lane stretch of the Suez Canal, Egypt's first female ship's captain, Marwa Elselehdar, bore the brunt of the mishap even as she was on post hundreds of miles away in Alexandria.

Rumours about Elselehdar's role on the Ever Given were largely spurred by online trolls who posted screenshots of a fake news headline stating she was involved in the Suez incident, according to a BBC report.

The 29-year-old who was in command of the Aida IV as a first mate at the time of the Canal blockage told the publication that although she had no idea who first spread the story or why they did it, this wasn't the first time she had faced challenges in the industry which has been historically dominated by men.

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"I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I'm a successful female in this field or because I'm Egyptian, but I'm not sure," she said.

Elselehdar, who among the only two per cent of the world's women seafarers, was allowed to join after a legal review by Egypt's then-President Hosni Mubarak at a time when the academy only accepted men.

"Onboard, they were all older men with different mentalities... It was challenging to go through this alone and be able to overcome it without affecting my mental health. People in our society still don't accept the idea of girls working in the sea away from their families for a long time. But when you do what you love, it is not necessary for you to seek the approval of everyone," she told BBC.

Read | Investigation begins into how ship got stuck on Suez Canal

She feared that the rumours about her role in the Suez blockage would impact her work.

"This fake article was in English so it spread in other countries," she said.

"I tried so hard to negate what was in the article because it was affecting my reputation and all the efforts I exerted to be where I am now."

International supply chains were thrown into disarray when the 400-metre-long container ship Ever Given ran aground in the canal on March 23, with specialist rescue teams taking almost a week to free her after extensive dredging and repeated tugging operations.

(With agency inputs)