Egyptian government clamps down on parents who give their kids foreign names

The Egyptian government is set to pass into law a bill prohibiting parents from giving their children western names such as Lara,Emmy,Sally.


The draft law which was introduced by MP Bedier Abdel Aziz in the country's parliament yesterday was debated upon by fellow members.He stated that a jail term of six months be given to offenders or an option of fine between £40 and £220 to be paid by violators.

Aziz stated that western names were difficult for Egyptians to pronounce and that those names were not in tune with Egypt's laws and customs.

''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.''

The proposed bill was however met with anger by social media users,with some saying that families were yet to feed properly and some individuals were discussing or proposing a ban on Western names while others were of the thought that there were more important issues to be discussed than this frivolity of a topic.