There are secrets behind closed doors. But to say that Egypt was shell shocked as news about its first swingers club emerged would be an understatement. And there is a small technicality – the couples first met online before arranging to meet face to face in cafes.
According to Al Arabiya news site a senior civil servant and his wife were arrested for organising orgies and swinging parties as well as hosting wife swaps.
The couple advertised for their activities online, with invites to married couples only. Forty-four couples responded to the Internet ad over a three month period.
Zeinobia, from Egyptian Chronicles, goes ballistic. She notes:
The big disgraceful news made the headlines in all crime pages and sometimes front pages ,it is first time in the history of Egypt to have something like this.
The police arrested the married couple who operated that club and currently search for other 44 married couples who were members in that club.
The man is 48 years governmental official and his wife is 38 years old veiled Arabic school teacher !! Yes the wife is veiled Arabic school teacher , it was a shock to me because I understand or I know that a woman like her should have better knowledge of her religion and her culture , she is raising generations for God Sake !!
In another post, Zeinobia notes that the couples may have met on Facebook:
By the way it seems that this swingers club was a group on the facebook , yes the facebook ,already believe it or not I made a quick search and I found three swingers Arab groups , one a very private group in Egypt ,another one in KSA and the last one in Emirates. The bad use of technology ,what I can say !!??
To understand Zeinobia's dismay one only has to reflect on how online activists use the Internet and Facebook to tell the world about their troubles.
Al Masry Al Youm, an Egyptian paper, ran the story online. So far more than 250 people have commented on the article and here's a cross section of reactions.
Tarek Salaheldin comments:
Mohammed Ayoub says:
And Wael adds:
Adel Al Wardani agrees that such news should not be published:
What do you think? Should such stories be publicised or just whispered about behind closed doors?
13 comments
People should be able to do whatever they like behind closed doors, but I agree with Zeinobia and seemingly, you, that they should avoid using Facebook and other public online tools for such matters; the problem is that those tools are used by activists, and if they become “tainted” there’s a much bigger chance that they could be blocked in that country. And that’s not good for anyone.
In other words, swingers: keep it to yourselves!
This sort of thing happens all the time , sad to say, and not just in the Western countries .It usually happens when the people live outside their own country because they feel freer and don’t think their family or friends will ever find out. They feel a safety in amenity when they live in a different country or environment from their own .I am surprised more Muslim countries haven’t had this same scandal come to light .Human nature has shown that the tighter the reign on a person , the more the moral behavior rebels .
I’m so glad you’re translating the comments on Al-Masry al-Youm’s pages. They’re usually more interesting than the articles. Thank you!
can’t we all just get a long
who cares, i definetly wouldn’t engage with it with my wife and hope i dont. i think it is for people who are depressed in themselves thier jobs life etc and want adventure but it will invariably leed to sadness if they cant take it, i do know of it going on i’m not saying where as im not advertising, but i wont condone it as in a way it is really a way of people meeting eachother and maybe finding a new wife. so what we are really addressing here is divorce, marriage, and relationships. i would agree it is sad that people do this but i do know of people finding new wives doing it whereas in other situations they probably would not have been able to.
I believe what happens behind closed doors should stay that way. Usually the ones most upset about it are simply the ones working harder to hide their own dark secrets.
Of course we are under the opinions swinging should not be such a dirty word anyway!