Close up: Fight back By Salama A Salama People are in two minds about sexual harassment. Some blame women, saying they act or dress provocatively (no matter that most are now veiled) thus provoking the beast in young -- and loitering -- men. Others blame the repressed sexuality and oppressive upbringing of young people in general. In a country with known economic and social problems, the common view of women is that of being sexual objects. And the crossing over of chauvinistic values from other Arab societies does not help. The phenomenon gets worse at feasts and carnivals, where incidents of gang-like sexual assaults have been reported. The police don't seem to worry much, however. I disagree with both the above views. We mustn't forget that we live in an open international society, one that has experienced sexual, social and communication revolutions that upset conventional views of gender relations and have changed the way young people of both sexes interact in public life, the workplaces and on the political scene. A new culture has come to our doorsteps via the media, films and books. And the older generations were neither able to stop the new trends nor reconcile the new ideals with tradition. It is wrong to blame women for harassment. It is equally wrong to claim that men are being beastly because of their reactionary views of women. The real reason for the problem is that we have failed to offer our young the freedom and scope for growth they needed. We have failed to give our boys and girls a chance to interact in a healthy way in their childhood and puberty, leaving them forever puzzled and a bit immature. Many of our young people have no way to fill their time beyond studying and playing, or just roaming the streets -- ticking like a time bomb. Where are the youth centres that promote mixed- sex activities? Where are the elected councils in schools and universities that offer the youth a chance to interact and grow? The only thing we seem to be encouraging the young to do is join the ruling party or work for the security services. A barrier has been erected between the sexes, full of cracks through which harassment finds its way. When 15 million Egyptians live in unplanned zones, not to use the word ghetto, all kinds of pressures are bound to build up. Ours is a modern society that segregates men and women. Ours is a society that still views women as weak creatures who, unless protected, are prey to reactionary religious edicts and the passions of the mob. Ironically, women have fallen victim to this same view, and many of them lost the desire to fight back. This is why everyone reacted so strangely when a young woman caught the man who harassed her and had him sent to trial, and subsequently to prison. That her utterly normal reaction was viewed as extraordinary is an indictment of society as well as a wakeup call for all women. This is the cue women must take in standing up for their rights. And let me tell you this. Women are not the only victims of sexual harassment in this country. How about street children? What we know about them is only a small portion of the horrors they endure. How about class harassment, power harassment and money harassment? Noha Roushdi did the right thing when she took her attacker to court. But other forms of oppression -- political and economic -- are harder to resist and don't seem to go away.
