Egypt’s top brass honor woman who paid poor conscript’s ticket

CAIRO: An Egyptian woman whose act of kindness towards an army conscript drew nationwide praise was honored Sunday by the defense minister.
Safia Abou El-Azm stepped in to buy a ticket for a young soldier who was being berated by a train conductor and was about to be thrown off half way through his journey.
The confrontation and her gesture was caught on video and captured the hearts of Egyptians.
The footage, which went viral, showed El-Azm defend the young conscript when he stood up to leave following the altercation with the conductor and his supervisor.
The soldier, Abdullah Mohammed Antar, was verbally humiliated by the officials before leaving his seat.
El-Azm told him she had “three sons like him” as she paid for his ticket.
The conscript was seen counting whatever money he had to pay her back, but she refused.
At a ceremony held for retired army officers, Mohamed Zaki, the defence minister, honored El-Azm, who has come to be known as “the train lady.”
Military officials thanked her for helping the young conscript, and described her as symbol for “the goodness within Egyptian women.”
She also appeared on many TV talk shows over the weekend to explain her actions.
Meanwhile, the soldier was also honored in Sunday’s event for his discipline during the train incident.

Egypt’s top brass honor woman who paid poor conscript’s ticket