Scenes of Egyptian women voters dancing at the doors of polling stations was one of the most attention-grabbing features of the presidential elections held from May 26-28, which ended with former Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi beating his rival, Hamdeen Sabahi.

The dancing phenomenon started with the referendum on the new Egyptian constitution in mid-January of this year. The new constitution was approved, replacing the one prepared by the Muslim Brotherhood under the rule of deposed President Mohammed Morsi.

The controversial dancing phenomenon reflected the ideological differences in Egyptian society. Some men as well as young and older women spontaneously joined the voters dancing at the doors of polling stations. Others, especially Muslim Brotherhood supporters, strongly and angrily denounced the dancing because it violated custom and tradition. Brotherhood supporters posted videos of the dancing on social media describing the act as immoral.

Hundreds of videos showing voters dancing next to polling stations were circulated on social media platforms and YouTube. The video with the most views and comments was of a veiled woman dancing to the tunes of a famous national song, Bushrat Khair (A Good Omen) by Hussein al-Jasmi, that urged all Egyptians to vote in the elections. One viewer said in his comment on the video that the veiled woman was the wife of a supporter of the religiously radical Salafists.