World Bulletin/News Desk

As many as 50 female supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi are being detained for partaking in pro-Morsi protests in Egypt, a local legal center and sources with a coalition of pro-Morsi Islamist bodies said Friday.

Earlier in the day, Morsi’s backers staged fresh rallies nationwide to demand the release of female protesters arrested by police during earlier demonstrations and to denounce what they described as systematic targeting by the security agencies against the pro-Morsi females.

The rallies – held under the banner "Women are a redline" – were called by the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, a Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition that demand Morsi's reinstatement.

The military-backed authorities have not released the exact number of female detainees arrested for protesting in Morsi’s support, but a security source said that the number of jailed female protesters stand at 21.

However, Ahmed Mofreh of Karama Foundation for Human Rights said that at least 50 female protesters are still detained. “We have reports that several female protesters were subject to beating by police and army troops,” he said.

Ayaa Alaa, a member of pro-Morsi female group called Women Against Coup, confirmed that at least 50 women are jailed in connection with the pro-Morsi protests, including three sisters with dual Egyptian-Irish nationality.