New Egyptian channel to only feature fully veiled women

The first niqabi-only channel will be named "Mariya" after one of Prophet Mohammad's wives, who was a Coptic Egyptian freed slave.

A full niqabi film crew will manage and operate the channel, including TV presenters, producers, directors and correspondents.

The channel will start airing on July 20, the first day of Ramadan.

The channel will air its programmes through the ultra-conservative Islamic Umma Channel for six hours every day. The majority of the programming will focus on the niqab and married life.

The channel will be exclusively managed by women. Men will be prohibited from working in or appearing on Mariya, and even participating in phone-ins during live programmes.

El-Sheikha Safaa Refai, a preacher who will head the channel, said that Mariya programmes aim to educate Muslim women about their religion.

"Our message will be directed at Muslim women, to teach them the Sunna (practices) of the Prophet Mohamed," Refai was quoted by Al-Ahram online as saying.

Refai insisted that the niqab is the proper Muslim attire as stipulated by Islamic Sharia law.

She indicated that Mariya plans to feature only niqabi pundits.

However, if the channel airs a programme about an issue and cannot find a niqabi (fully veiled face) expert, they will host a non-niqabi and give them two options: either to wear the niqab temporarily during the programme, or have their faces blurred out while the programme is being broadcast.

However, Refai added that this does not mean that they will be "excluding anyone" explaining that Mariya aims to bring back the dignity of fully veiled women who were oppressed and fired from their jobs over the past few decades.

The channel currently has 30 niqabi TV presenters. They also have a temporary male director, Mohamed Dunia, who will be replaced with a niqabi woman soon, according to Refai.

Similarly, the "uncovered" camerawomen Mariya has hired for the time being will also soon be replaced.

The news of the channel has sent shockwaves in the media circles and comes at at time when Egypt has witnessed an ongoing Islamist ascendancy in recent times.