Egypt's Rise in Sexual Harassment
In Cairo Women Get Sexually Harrassed on a Daily Basis
May 31, 2009
A study published last year by the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights (ECWR) found that 46 percent of the 1,000 women who were surveyed were harassed on a daily basis.
"The results were a shock for us – this was not the Egyptian hospitality we knew, and it was not compatible with all our ideas about harassment,"said ECWR chairwoman Nehad Abu El-Komsan.
"As women, we follow our grandmother’s advice – not to come home late, walk in a crowded area because people can protect you, and never walk down a dark or empty street – we know all this very well," she says. "But what [our research showed] was something completely different from the stereotypes we had - sexual harassment occurring in crowded areas, people not responding to a women when she asks for help, and comments from men that were just hurtful."
Contrary to expectations, the male perpetrators made little distinction between women wearing the Islamic veil and those who were not. "We found that a veil does not protect women as we thought," says Abu El-Komsan. "Already more than 50 percent of women in Egypt are veiled and yet still harassed, and 9 percent wear niqab [a veil that covers head to toe], so they are fully covered."
Sexual Harassment: With or Without the Veil
Sociologists attribute a rise in sexual harassment to frustration resulting from difficult economic conditions that prevent young Egyptian men from marrying, while sex outside of wedlock is forbidden. They also cite the proliferation of sexual imagery on television, a rise in religious extremism, and the absence of any clear law that criminalises sexual harassment.
Research has shown that the majority of women do not report incidents to the police either because they feel their complaint will not be taken seriously, or it will result in greater humiliation. Men often claim women provoke sexual harassment by wearing "immodest" or tight-fitting clothing. Some Islamic groups have used this charge to reinforce their own campaigns for women to dress conservatively and adopt the veil.
"Religion is used as an excuse," says Asmaa, a 25-year-old bank teller, who claims she is frequently harassed at work and on the streets. "The first thing people do is blame it on the girls. No one mentions that religion also tells men and women to lower their gaze."
The Government's Response to the Rise in Sexual Harassment
Egyptian officials often play down the extent of the problem. In October 2006, a mob of young men tore off the clothes of women during a public holiday celebration in Cairo while police looked on. The government initially denied the incident occurred; then a video surfaced on the internet.
The public outrage and lobbying that followed appears to have stirred a change in attitude.
Last October, 27-year-old filmmaker Noha Roshdy won a landmark legal battle against a man who stopped his vehicle in front of her on a busy street and grabbed her breast. The court sentenced the man to three years in jail and ordered him to pay a 900 dollar-fine as compensation.
Rights groups say legislation criminalising sexual harassment is needed to protect women and ensure offenders are duly punished. A draft law currently under review by parliament proposes fines and prison sentences according to the nature of the verbal or physical assault.
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