Egyptian Pastry Chef Arrested for Making Penis Cupcakes

A pastry chef in Egypt has been arrested for decorating cupcakes with penises, The Guardian reports.

The female chef had baked the treats for a private birthday party at Gezira, a sporting club in Cairo's affluent neighborhood. She was apprehended at her home after the party's guests had posted photos to social media. Egyptian security forces identified the chef after interviewing witnesses.

The chef was interrogated by a court that recently tried Rania Youssef, an Egyptian actress who commented about her physical appearance on television – the actress was charged with "contempt of Islam and infringing Egyptian family values."

The newspaper Al Masry Al Youm reported the chef was in tears when she was arrested, saying that club patrons "came to my shop and handed me pictures of genitals, and asked me for cakes in these forms." After questioning, she was released on bail of 5000 EGP (approximately $318).

Other similar incidents include the acquittal of two female influencers on TikTok who were initially charged with "violating family values," and a jail sentence of three years for bellydancer Sama El Masry for "immorality." The vague nature of the charges and the that Egyptian officials appear to be targeting women are examples of the state's continued attempts at imposing morality on its citizens.

Meanwhile, Egyptian tabloids have published photos of the cupcakes with the penis decorations blurred. The state-owned newspaper Al Ahram described the cupcakes as "indecent and immoral shapes."

Timothy E. Kaldas, of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, points to "the absurdity of penis cupcakes garnering the attention of state prosecutors, police investigators, members of parliament, and the regime-controlled press." Kaldas said that the issue at hand isn't the actual ban of public sexuality, but rather "it is restricting sexuality that is outside the control of men."