CAIRO – A provincial governor in Egypt has ordered changes to a sculpture honouring fallen soldiers after many on social media said it appeared to depict an unwanted advance on a woman symbolizing the country.
The sculpture, titled “Mother of the Martyr,” depicts a slender peasant woman, a traditional artistic representation of Egypt, with her arms outstretched. A helmeted soldier is standing behind her,looking over her shoulder with his arms wrapped around her.
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Residents of Sohag, where the sculpture stands at a public square but has not been formally unveiled, complained that it was inappropriate. Sohag and other southern provinces are more conservative than the rest of the Muslim-majority country.
The sculptor, Wagih Yani, has begun removing the soldier, who will be replaced by an olive branch and 10 white doves.