CAIRO: Egypt's leading political figure Mohamed ElBaradei issued an apology to Egyptian women on Friday evening after a protest calling for an end to sexual harassment in Tahrir Square was attacked. “To the women of Egypt: I apologize in the name of every Egyptian who knows the meaning of religion, values and ethics,” he wrote on his personal Twitter account, which has over 700,000 followers. An anti-sexual harassment demonstration organized by over 20 Egyptian women's groups in protest against the recent escalation of assaults in Cairo's Tahrir Square was attacked about an hour and half after it began by unknown troublemakers. The participants reported being attacked by a mob of “thugs” who attempted to throw rocks and glass at them, but the clash was over quickly as volunteers securing the protest intervened to stop it. No injuries were reported by the women as of late Friday evening. This is not the first time a women's rights march was attacked in Tahrir Square. Last March, and on International Women's Day, a march of tens of women was attacked by a cynical mob of men who did not like women protesting for more rights. Several female protesters were injured and one woman had to have 8 stitches in her head. Almost all of them were groped and sexually assaulted in the attack. A 2008 study by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR) found that well over two-thirds of Egyptian women are sexually harassed daily in the country. Right before the attack, and in the middle of thousands of protesters calling for change, the female protesters stood strong, denouncing the recent viscous attacks on female visitors to Tahrir Square, only a short time before they themselves were the victims of an attack. On Friday night, and on the Friday of Determination mass protest that saw tens of thousands descend on the square, the attack proved the difficulties women face in Egypt. The protest saw women and men from various age groups come together calling for an end to sexual violence against women in the square. The participants held signs that read “It is my right to protest safely,” “Groping your sister is shameful for the square” and “Be a man and protect her instead of harassing her.” “We are fed up,” protester Mai Abdel Hafez, 24, told Bikyamasr.com. “We came to deliver a message that it is our right to protest and we will not avoid the square in fear of harassment,” she said right before the attack took place.
