CAIRO: A lawsuit demanding the designation of Nov. 19 as official Father’s Day was rejected Thursday by the Administrative Court of Asyut, Upper Egypt.
Yasser Abdel Wahab, the citizen who filed the lawsuit, chose Nov. 19 because it is the birthday of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. He said he was “seeking equality” with Mother’s Day, celebrated in Egypt March 21.
The lawsuit also demanded that the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh be renamed “the City of Peace.”
When he decided to file the lawsuit, Abdel Wahab told reported last March that the role of fathers “cannot be denied or ignored,” and they should be honored because their sacrifices are “no less valuable than mothers.”
Days before Abdel Wahab announced his lawsuit, Sisi had honored 31 mothers, who received a 50,000 EGP ($6,560) award each.
Qalyubia, in Egypt’s Delta, became the first governorate to designate a Father’s Day; April 21. The request was filed to the council of Qalyubia by Dean of Applied Arts at Banha University Yasser Suhail.