Egypt's social media users are campaigning to reopen cinemas in the country's southern governorates that have radical views about religion and gender and consider art taboo. The campaign, titled #Eftaho_cinemat_el-Se'eed (#Open_Upper_Egypt's_Cinemas), was launched this week on Facebook and garnered the support and likes of hundreds of users.
The founder of the campaign, Ayat Yassin, said she initiated the campaign after noticing that several cinemas in the Upper Egyptian governorates of Sohag and Assiut had been closed down. Yassin is from Sohag and is a regular visitor to Assiut.