Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



The Sexual Harassment File: Bringing up the obvious?
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 01 - 06 - 2011

Over the coming weeks, Al-Masry Al-Youm each Wednesday will feature pieces that dissect the reasons behind sexual harassment, the coping mechanisms for women (and men) in the streets of Cairo and the system that has been set up to tackle this festering issue. Comments and input are appreciated - send us your stories of sexual harassment and information on any organizations or initiatives that combat sexual harassment in Egypt.
Any woman living in Cairo will tell you that sexual harassment has been on the increase since she was little. Our mothers will tell us that in the '60s, sexual harassment was unheard of - women would walk the streets in miniskirts and halter tops, and the most they would hear was a comment about how beautiful they looked.
“We used to walk through the streets to university in little skirts,” says Sherifa Mansour, 69, “and no one said a word - everyone dressed like that.”
But the streets of Cairo today are a different story - in fact, the streets of any city in Egypt will give you a taste of harassment, the likes of which I have yet to find anywhere else.
In recent years, harassment has found its way into the vocabulary of Egyptian woman. Despite the televised denial of its existence by former first lady Suzanne Mubarak in 2008, 83 percent of women who participated in a poll that year said they were sexually harassed, half of them adding it happened on a daily basis. Um Hashem, a housekeeper in Zamalek, says a day does not go by where she doesn't hear sexual comments from the men who sit behind her in the microbus to work.
“If I told my husband, he'd make me stay home because he'd be worried about me,” she explains.
Organizations like HarassMap, which tracks sexual harassment reports on a map, have tried to locate perpetrators, warn women and point out exactly how often harassment occurs on the streets of Egypt's cities. Even legislation has been passed to fine and jail harassers based on the extent of their actions.
The film industry has also woken up to the extremity of the situation. The film 678 (2010), directed by Mohamed Diab, tackles old stereotypes, such as a man meeting a woman through sexual harassment - or through lighter, more complimentary (albeit unsolicited) comments - and then marrying her by the end of the story. The film replaces that narrative with the destructive realities that sexual harassment can cause for women, men and the relationships they share.
Sexual harassment has many definitions, but the clearest ones deal with unwanted sexual advances, involving everything from looks to comments, gestures, entering an individual's personal space in a sexual manner and even grabbing or touching - although any physical contact usually falls under the umbrella of sexual assault.
“I've been threatened more by a man following me and breathing heavily on a dark street than by the lewdest of comments or the near brushes with being grabbed by men on bicycles,” says Lilian Samir.
A dichotomy is found in Egypt - juxtaposed values, like the honor and respect that a mother or sister will get and the disrespect and sexuality attributed to women functioning in public space, coexist in modern Egypt and different situations bring the question up again and again. Perhaps this is why men so often deny the existence of sexual harassment all together.
“The women being harassed are not respectable women,” says Ibrahim Said, a plumber from Helwan, “and proof of that is in the fact that our wives and sisters don't get harassed.”
Most interesting was the reported lack of sexual harassment during the 18 days in which the country was up in arms against the regime. Was it the sense of national unity? A momentary lift of the day to day frustrations and therefore less of a reason to lash out on the “weaker” sex? Or was it merely a distraction - a continued lack of understanding for the destructive nature of sexual harassment, but merely a few days off as passion and rage were focused on the regime?
Contact the Life & Style section at [email protected] for your input in The Sexual Harassment File.


Clic here to read the story from its source.