March 20th marked the first International Anti-Street Harassment Day that aimed at informing the world of the crippling problem that faces women in public. The event was celebrated widely by women's rights supporters and activists around the globe. 80 to 100 percent of women around the world are harassed in the street, according to studies. “Too often our stories and experiences with street harassment are silenced, dismissed as trivial annoyances, or portrayed as a compliment. On March 20, break the silence, challenge the social acceptability, brainstorm community responses, and demand its end,” read the celebration campaign statement. In Egypt and in celebration of the day, Harassmap.com organized educational visits to different areas around Cairo to help educate citizens about the issue. While women around the world face harassment in the street everyday. some countries are luckier than others. Egypt and India are two of the worst countries for women when it comes to sexual harassment in the street. Studies say 83 percent of all Egyptian women are harassed daily, while 98 percent of their Indian counterparts face the same problem. In Egypt, sexual harassment is a widely accepted reality amidst male circles. Women and girls learn to ignore cat calls, comments, looks, explicit sexual invitations, and even groping. Men in the country say it is a joke and often blame women for dressing in a revealing way. However, the 2008 survey on sexual harassment in Egypt's streets found dress to be irrelevant as most of the women harassed were fully covered and wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab. The survey that was conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR) stirred large debate due to the high numbers, yet the results were not shocking to any woman who ever lived or visited the North African country. One of the proposed and least talked about solutions to combating sexual harassment in the streets is educating the young. Feminists say education is the key to ensuring women's safety from harassment in the streets. While street harassment is known to not bind to age, educating the young could mean drastic changes of how we view and treat women. As blogger Feminist Teacher says, “The importance of addressing street harassment in schools was never made more apparent to me than when my students shared their stories about being harassed on the subways and streets of New York, especially going to and from school.” She also notes the importance of reaching out to our young because many of them mirror what they see and hear. “[they] learn how to repeat these behaviors from the widespread sexual violence in our communities, the media, their homes, streets and schools.” The blogger recalls a story of using testimonies from female students to teach men of the ills of harassing women. She said it deeply moved them to realize the pain inflected upon these girls. “I was clueless because I never even realized how close street harassment really was to me. It made me wonder about all the women in my own personal life that had been street harassed and all the times that they never even mentioned it to me. Yet it was still those girls in my class who, upon being asked and opening up about these experiences, truly changed my ideals,” said one of her male students. “I strongly believe that sharing personal stories about street harassment is essential to demonstrating how gender-based violence and discrimination are more common than they appear,” the blogger said. “Men are socialized to be aggressive and violent and to pursue women. Street harassment is a way they can do all three to gain or maintain power and to prove their masculinity. This behavior is learned, and so it can be unlearned or not taught at all,” stopsexualharassment.com wrote on their website about the need to educate men. “Street harassment will not end until men stop harassing women. Therefore, it is most important to focus educational efforts on boys, young men, and men.” BM
