Egypt is still the same. What we witnessed on Tuesday in Tahrir Square tells us Egyptian society has a long way to go before it will see the birth of the “New Egypt” being parading across the streets and on the Internet. When Egyptian women are treated with dignity and respect and are not sexually assaulting for speaking out, then Egypt will have arrived. The fact that sexual harassment and assaults met the hundreds of women who celebrated International Women's Day should come as no surprise to any observer who has watched Egypt for the past few years. On almost every public holiday since 2006, crazed young men attack women. The police, and now the army, have done little to intervene, if at all. It is Egypt's greatest social problem and without a concerted effort to change attitudes and perceptions of women in the country, Egypt can have no democracy. In mid-February, Bill Maher, host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, talked about the need for a sexual revolution in the Middle East. He pointed to the ill-treatment of women on many levels. While his attempt to paint the picture was well-meaning and correct at times, he misses a valuable point that many Western commentators fail to grasp. It isn't about religion. It is culture, not faith, that continues to push women into the background, into the home and off the streets. Egypt does not need a sexual revolution in the American sense. Maher's argument here is flawed on one level. Egyptian women do not necessarily need to be sexually liberated. The point that Maher should have been making is that Egypt, and the greater Middle East, need to work toward changing the perceptions of women. In Egypt, for example, a number of studies have been published, by the United Nations and the Egyptian government, detailing horrific statistics. Here's one: 80 percent of men believe it is okay to rape their wife if she refuses to have sex with him. Or: the majority of both men and women agree that a husband can beat his wife if she speaks to another man in public. These ideas and beliefs cross faith. Christians and Muslim men living in Egypt are equal in their patriarchal ways. What we witnessed on Tuesday was yet another attempt to fight against the women striving for cultural change in the country. It is time their voices be heard, on the streets and in government. With Egypt pushing toward the path to democracy, it is easy to get overexcited – and the media are partly responsible – and forget that the interim government has no real female voice. Where are the women? When they are sexually assaulted on the streets while celebrating an international commemoration of women, it is no surprise Egyptian politics are continuing to silence real, viable female candidates. They are there and have been active for years. One woman that springs to mind is Gameela Ismail, a leading opposition figure and stark supporter of Egypt's future. She would make for an ideal Prime Minister or Foreign Minister, she speaks English, has worked for foreign magazines and is 100 percent in support of creating a better country. But, her male colleagues continue to leave her out. And this is the heart of the matter. What we saw in Tahrir on Tuesday was a sample of the overarching attitudes towards women in Egypt. Men simply do not want to “allow” women to have a voice in the country's future. Certainly, one could well argue that there are many men who respect and promote women's rights in the country, and this could very well be true. However, when it comes down to physically involving oneself in the day-to-day efforts of women's organizations across the country, men somehow avoid participation. And we are shocked that the youth assault, rape and degrade women on a daily basis? ** Joseph Mayton is Editor-in-chief of Bikya Masr BM
