CAIRO: With Eid beginning today, Egyptians are readying themselves for the festivities, heading to the streets, watching films and enjoying the good times. For some, however, the holiday brings back painful memories of when masses of young boys and men, in a crazed frenzy, attacked scores of innocent women on Cairo's streets, ripping their clothes, groping them and sexually assaulting female bystanders. It is a time of remembrance for these women. In October 2006, during the Eid holiday that follows the Holy Month of Ramadan, mobs of young men attacked female bystanders, ripping at and groping them near a local cinema in downtown Cairo. Nobody believed the women’s stories until evidence appeared on blogs that included video and pictures of the event. The Ministry of Interior denied that it had even occurred, stating on the record that “if something had happened there would have been police reports filed.†“It was like a war and I had no idea what was going on until they started to grab my butt, breasts and every inch of my body,†said Dina as she walked along Taalat Harb street in downtown Cairo, the location of the incident on October 24, 2006. “I sprayed the boys with my pepper spray but they kept coming. I ended up finding a car that was parking on the roadside and got in, but before I could one of the guys grabbed my butt and I slipped, cutting my hand. She said about 50 young men began to move about hysterically following the closure of the ticket office at the theater and started to harass the women in the area, in the early evening, around seven at night. “I saw other girls having the same things happen to them … it was chaos and the guys were going crazy with their touching and groping,†she added. “I still get an ugly feeling when I think of what happened that day. I thought Egyptians were more respectful of women, but now I am scared to go downtown alone.†Then, two years later, also during the Eid holidays, more women were attacked. According to eyewitness accounts, around 150 boys and young men attacked women on the street, ripping at female bystanders’ clothes. Women reported groping, inappropriate touching and even worse. Veiled women had their clothes torn off by the attackers who once again used the mob scene to create widespread fear and terror. One woman who wears the niqab – the veil that covers the entire face – reported men grabbing at it in an attempt to tear it off her face. Despite these blatant assaults on women, a government campaign continues to stifle discussion over sexual harassment. Suzanne Mubarak went on pan-Arabic news network Al Arabiya last year to refute claims that Egyptian women were treated poorly. “Egyptian men always respect Egyptian women,” the first lady said, after the presenter showed her a number of recent assault claims made by women, including Noha Rushdi, who won a landmark case that saw an Egyptian man sentenced to prison for assaulting her. “This gives the impression that the streets in Egypt are not safe. That is not true… The media have exaggerated,” Mubarak said. “Maybe one, two or even 10 incidents occurred. Egypt is home to 80 million people. We can't talk of a phenomenon. Maybe a few scatterbrained youths are behind this crime. “And maybe some people wanted to make it seem as though the streets of Egypt are not safe so girls and women stay at home. This could be their agenda,” she said in a reference to Islamist militants. Ironically, it was the 2006 attacks that sparked a movement among Egyptian women to speak out against one of the country’s most serious problems. The result of the two years of outrage against government inaction was arguably responsible for police interference. “Sexual harassment is at the forefront of issues,†argued Soha Abdelaty, the deputy director at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). “It is more and more obvious that it is becoming serious and the government needs to acknowledge this. Finally they gave some support to women by arresting and forcing an end to the situation,†she added. Women in the country are no longer afraid to report such incidents, as evidence by at least three victims telling their stories to local newspapers. The statistics do not lie. According to the a government report from the statistics body CAPMAS, 47 percent of married women between 15 and 49 are subjected to physical violence after turning 15, at least once; while 33 percent of married women are physically abused before getting marriage and 7 percent are sexually abused before marriage. Medical researchers argue that women are more likely to be assaulted sexually and physically by men they know rather than strangers. CAPMAS stated that 18 percent of Egyptian women are subjected to psychological violence. The term refers to common patterns usually not considered violent, such as verbal threats, name calling, demeaning and intimidating behaviors performed by a man. “Many women who survived emotional abusive behavior argue that it is more painful and damaging than physical harm,” said Dr. Tamer Ahmed, an Egyptian psychologist. BM
