The controversy over the sexual assault incident that occurred during the inaugural celebrations for President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the Egyptian Revolution, and the graphic video of the victim that went viral have raised concerns over the safety of Egypt's women. The outrage that reverberated across the country following the assault, and the escalation of events that led to the arrest of seven men who were involved in the incident, changed to surprise and relief when President Al-Sisi visited the victim in hospital. In an unprecedented gesture from a government official, let alone a president, he apologised to her on behalf of the government for its incompetence in protecting the women. “I am coming here to tell you, and to tell every Egyptian woman, that I am sorry. I apologise to all of you. Don't be upset,” he told the victim after he handed her a large bouquet of red roses. Furthermore, he vowed that these heinous crimes against women should and will end. He affirmed that keeping the streets safe is the collective responsibility of the police force, the judiciary and the media. “I am telling every policeman and every officer in the country that this cannot go on. I am telling the judiciary that our honour is assaulted in the streets and this is inappropriate. And to the media, I am telling them they have a big responsibility [as well]. It is everybody's responsibility. And we will take drastic and firm measures to enforce strict laws to prevent the recurrence of such incidents again,” he continued. The daily struggle of Egyptian women to pass through streets infested with packs of rabid males has reached an intolerable level. It is an uncontrolled state of lawlessness. Interim President Adli Mansour issued a decree before leaving office to criminalise sexual harassment with sentences up to five years in jail for offenders. However, while a rapist may face the death penalty, according to Egyptian law, there is not yet a clear definition for sexual assault. Nonetheless, seven offenders are already facing charges. As always happens, the incident created media frenzy. Television studios were crammed with self-proclaimed analysts and experts denouncing, analysing, preaching and lecturing about sexual harassment and assault. Castration and execution of offenders were punishments suggested as the frenzy reached a crescendo. Born into a macho culture, it was staggering and alarming to watch the testimonials of young school children in a video recorded by “Dignity without Borders”, a non-partisan group of women and men who work towards ending sexual violence. When asked why they think women get harassed in the streets of Egypt, the school children agreed it was the fault of girls. In the video, the youngsters blamed girls for their “inappropriate” attire. They went to the extent that harassing a non-veiled woman is justifiable. “About sexual harassment, it is usually the girl's fault because they are strolling around in tight clothes that reveal their bodies. The respectable girls who wear respectable hijab and respectable clothes don't get harassed. In Islam they shouldn't reveal their curves. They should hide all the curves in their bodies,” one teenager said on camera while his peers cheer in the background. These testimonies only illustrate the gravity of the situation that has been spreading like wildfire in society for over three decades with the encouragement and blessing of radical and misogynist religious scholars. These scholars have been spreading their venom into the minds of these men under the eyes of the government that failed to take action to curb this cancerous disease that has become an epidemic. With the surge in sexual harassment and violence against women, it is no surprise that Egypt ranked as the worst Arab state for women, according to a survey by the Thomson Reuters Foundation conducted in 2013. A few days after the incident, and in another televised broadcast, President Al-Sisi sternly warned that the day would soon come where men who even dare to stare at a woman in the street will pay the consequences. The visit of Al-Sisi to the victim and his firm words are a silver lining in the clouds. As leader of the country, he is taking the initiative to protect women. He has promised Egyptians security and stability. And he clearly delivered the message that action will be taken. His words came from the heart and reached millions of women who gave him their votes. Cleansing the streets of harassers won't be an easy job, but perhaps more difficult is cleansing brains of the venomous ideology that has been accumulating for decades. Hopefully under Al-Sisi's leadership a new dawn will rise for the women of Egypt who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. It is hoped that this is not just the “flavour of the month” but rather a sustained, disciplined and firm enforcement of the law. The writer is an advocate for women's rights. Born and raised in Egypt, her blog, Silenced Voices, Wasted Lives is dedicated to women's issues, in particular in the Middle East.
