She did it. For the first time in days since the incident, she has stepped out of her comfort zone. She has made it out the door and down her street; just a few more steps and she will reach her destination- a quaint café near Talat Harb Street. This scorching heat pierces through the heavy cloth, now trapped under the block-colored-black scarf that weighs her down. She feels the sweat dripping down her back, but all she hears is her heart-rate quicken its pace as she heavily treads through the crowd; beady black and brown marbles tracking her location, zoning in, now eying her golden tresses, from all angles, tracing her physique, stripping her bare of all forms of dignity. Cat-calls. She insecurely looks down to her scarf, double-checking that she is well covered. Her heart pounds at the doors of her chest-cavity to be set free from this heated, hellish prison of fear. She trips, she falls. A man in the doorway of a shop hurries over to her; she flinches as his un-calloused hands come at her. He's confused, yet not offended by her sudden reproach. He helps her up, asking her if she's alright. Surprised by the kindness that is shown to her, she cracks a small smile, thanks him and continues on her way; she is a block away from her destination. She walks more calmly now, all the while reprimanding herself for being so ridiculous, for being so frightened over nothing. Stopping at a four-way intersection, two men in a car, slow down as they stick their heads out and bellow some indeterminable sequence of Arabic syllables, sounds and utterances- words she can not make out. She ignores it. What else can she do? A group of men come up behind her, waiting to cross the street it seems. Before she can put two and two together, a hand had groped her rear end, another come around to brazenly squeeze her breast in broad- daylight. In a matter of seconds ... they were gone. The intersection cleared up, the streets seemingly naked of pedestrians or witnesses; she remained standing shocked, unable to move. Fear attacking yet again. Dear Touristas, this is not another harassment story, delving deep into the waves of gory acts of evil and violation of the rights of women. This is meant to address one ultimate question: Is this a man's world? Being a foreigner and a female, can be quite the recipe for unwanted attention here in Cairo. There has been countless accounts and varied renditions of women's experiences in the infamous Tahrir Square. It has become an iconic spot indeed, both for being the stage upon which the nation dressed the part and took to their roles beautifully in expressing their anger and discontentment through revolt; while other parties of this nation took this as an opportunity to gain some entertainment or to let off some well-built-up steam- preying, eying, then pouncing on the offered up buffet of innocent and unsuspecting female locals and foreigners (including journalists) alike. These hungry wild beasts have made their impact on many and on the women that have been violated. Tahrir is indeed iconic in Egypt's history; a history that though has been a relevant and necessary step in Egypt's future, will now also always remain a tainted memory to many and what seems to be an irremovable stain on the colors of Egypt- the culture, the society and the religion. The tainted memory that is revisited every time she steps out of her apartment, walks down the street or in passing a group of men; once touched by fear, it spreads to all facets of her life, like a cancer cell mutating and latching on to all healthy cells and fighting organs. A once fearless journalist, or traveler, passionate and loving soul, once touched by an unthinkable evil, is touched by a fear that continues to consume long after the primary feasting of Tahrir. The stain that is seen and frowned upon, by the international community, is the very same stain that adds fuel to the already flaming fires of discrimination of a religion, a culture and a people. People, being what they are; humans, look to placing blame, when no sense can be made out of certain events. Religion is blamed. The culture is blamed. Politics is blamed. The economy is blamed. The victims are even blamed; saying they've asked for it, by not being veiled and for those that are veiled, by not having their hands covered, or by being a foreigner, who apparently by nature lives with sin. All the while, no one knows why. ‘Haram! Haram!' Sin or not, it's being committed and none are immune; veiled or unveiled, foreign or local- there is no refuge, and there seems to be no one answer. So the question that remains, is whether or not Egypt or the Middle East is in fact a man's world; the playground to which they create the rules to every game, where the women are expected to remain within their given sandbox of rules, womanly (motherly, sisterly, wifely) duties and to be silently grateful? If this is in fact the case dear Touristas ... if this is in fact seen to be ‘a man's world', then when foreigners travel to one of these countries in the Middle East, such as Egypt, and are expected (though perhaps they come from a liberal way of life) to respect the culture (which I agree they should), what then Touristas, is expected of the culture that does not respect the foreign women in turn? When it comes to trying to understand the unknown that we have already touched on previously, it's all too confusing and unfathomable really to the foreigner, as well as, to the very salt of the Egyptian earth; her people. I mean, let's face it, the theory of foreigners being attacked because they have not been respecting the culture is booted out, once you see Egyptian women, veiled or unveiled, being stripped and dragged through the streets. The image of a woman with the blue bra comes clearly flashing through my mind. Where are the lines drawn? If a man is walking with his sister, fiancé, mother, or some other female member of his family and a male or group of males were to cat-call or attempt any form or harassment, that guy would straight up see red, so to speak. A fight or argument would break out, all in the heroic act of defending her honor, as well as, their family's. However, somehow, it seems to be acceptable when that same man previously defending the honor of his sister let's say, then harasses another man's sister, wife or mother. How can anyone be asked to understand that illogical reasoning of a culture; also know as, hypocrisy? In asking locals, colleagues and friends here in Egypt why they think this (this, being harassment) happens, some responded that it was to do with culture; that some men feel that once you are a woman in the street, having left her freedom of the home and the kitchen, she is somewhat ‘free game'. That she is asking for it. This is hard to believe, that such a backwards thought can be a part of Egypt's ideology, since Egypt is not a country left behind in the dark ages, but rather one moving forward economically, and now politically, but apparently not socially. Dear Touristas, does this mean that until Egypt and her neighboring countries of the Middle East or perhaps more specifically, other patriarchal societies, come into the 21st century with the rest of the world, it will in fact remain ‘a man's world?' (To be continued...) Safe Travels.
