Earlier this week, the Daily Mail reported that a 15-year-old British girl was forced to strip at an airport in Egypt because security didn’t believe she was female due to her short hair.
The young teen was forced to lift her bra and confirm she had no male genitalia until security was satisfied that she was female.
Caitlyn Disley had been excited to see the Red Sea with her girlfriend and family. However, that excitement was cut short when, on 25 Aug, two officials approached the girl while she was waiting for her luggage at Hurghada International Airport.
Her girlfriend’s mum spoke to the officials, and despite some confusion caused by the language barrier, it was eventually conveyed to her that the officials needed to check if Caitlyn was indeed female.
This led to shock and confusion as the only difference in her current appearance from her passport photo was that she was now sporting a shorter haircut.
Source: Wigan Today
Caitlyn was then taken to a room to get inspected. It was reported that the two male security officials initially wanted to do the check themselves.
However, her girlfriend’s mum opposed the two men seeing her intimately. They then found a female nurse to check on their behalf.
Caitlyn’s family said they weren’t sure if the nurse had anything to do with the airport.
According to Caitlyn’s family, the nurse then asked Caitlyn to lift her sports bra. She then asked to also inspect Caitlyn’s private area to see if male genitalia was present.
Once again, the girlfriend’s mum stepped in to prevent this. Eventually, officials compromised and allowed Caitlyn to pull her shorts tight to show that she didn’t have male genitalia.
After officials were satisfied, the family were allowed to leave the terminal.
“It was traumatising and embarrassing. I’ve never been put through anything like that before,” Caitlyn said.
Caitlyn’s father also added, “It’s been a horrible experience for Caitlyn and I think it has hit her more now that she is back home.”
Source: Daily Mail
Although she was able to put it in the back of her mind and enjoy the vacation, she and the family were still worried a similar incident would occur on the way home.
Following the incident, Caitlyn’s father raised the issue to a British MP.
“Caitlin doesn’t want this happening to anyone else. It could be a 10 or 11-year-old next,” the father said.
Also read: British woman goes on stealing spree at Changi Airport during transit, gets S$5K fine
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Featured image adapted from Wigan Today and Daily Mail.
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