Dirty Boobs Cause Diarrhea, Not Dirty Water

I'd firstly like to say that I have no idea how someone is even able to make statements like this in this day and age. Not only that, but for such statements to actually be taken seriously just baffles me. This man has a PhD in biological and agricultural engineering, and used to be the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation. But don't be fooled, it's dirty boobs not dirty water that cause diarrhea in babies who breast feed. 

(Side note: Yes sanitation is a big, big issue particularly in the poorer areas of Egypt, but to completely disregard the impact that drinking dirty water has on an individual and instead blame it on dirty boobs just defies any sort of logic. Any foreigner who has ever visited Cairo will have heard of the "Cairo Curse," or the "Pharaoh's Curse," and many are recommended to bring anti-diarrhea pills with them on holiday. Now unless we're all absentmindedly breastfeeding without knowing it, I'm pretty sure the water is more a culprit than dirty boobs. Wow.)

From al-Arabiya, please read on. (At the link provided you will also find a video with English translation of the PM saying this.)

Cabinet meetings usually discuss the state of economy, wars and general matters of governance. However, Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Qandil recently utilized a meeting to talk about the dangers of “unclean” breasts. 

The PhD holding prime minister who studied water resources, somehow, related the lack of clean water to the lack of clean breasts in one speech. While meeting with his cabinet members he spoke in an emotional manner as he recounted the struggle of the villagers he witnessed on his trips as a minister.

He narrated his experience as a middle-class Egyptian who traveled to the rural areas of the country where he saw the suffering of newborns having to deal with diarrhoea after being breast fed. 

The prime minister claimed that the reason behind the diarrhoea epidemic in rural Egypt is that some female villagers are too ignorant to clean their breasts before feeding their babies.

A couple of females in the cabinet meeting seemed uncomfortable during these remarks. The unpopular prime minister could create a huge controversy in the villages to which he refers, which will add to the unstable situation in Egypt that is currently hosting the Islamic Summit. 

Hisham Qandil was appointed by, the recently elected, President Mursi in July 2012. 

He used to be the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation. The 50 year old Qandil has a PhD in in biological and agricultural engineering with a minor in water resources from the United States.