Thousands of women marched in downtown Cairo to mark International Women's Day, celebrated every year on March 8 to honour women. They demanded their rights, which, unfortunately, have been violated in the past few months. The women carried banners with messages denouncing harassers as harassment has become all too common in Egypt, especially in the protests that have been happening in the iconic Tahrir Squares and other places. This is increasingly pushing many young people to launch movements and initiatives against the phenomenal spread of harassment. One of these initiatives, ‘Against Harassment', was established last August, in order to make women aware of their rights and the harassers aware of the harm they cause to females, telling them to behave respectfully towards the fairer sex. “We decided to establish this initiative, because harassment has of late been perceived as ‘rather normal' by society; no-one defends the female victims, unless the harasser goes beyond just talking and starts using his hands," says Ayman Nagy, one of the three founders of the initiative. “Our initiative is against all kinds of harassment – not only sexual harassment, but also child abuse, as well as injustice, corruption and racism." Nagy, 24, adds that, if Against Harassment finds out that women will be participating in any protest, some of its members will be there too among the protesters, in case of harassment. “We are a group of volunteers boys and girls who work as a team; everyone knows what he's meant to do," Nagy told the Egyptian Mail in an interview. “We wear distinctive orange vests, so people can spot us in the crowds. We have ways to help the victims of the harassers." He said that group harassment is on the increase, which is why they need to be there with the girls in their protests, protecting them and telling them not to be afraid, “as we are here to secure you". “We always support the victims of harassment and follow up afterwards. Even if another initiative or movement has helped the victim, we too try to give her the psychological support to face society again," Nagy explained. He said that, in case of harassment, they penetrate the circle made by the harassers around the girl in an arrow shape and take the female away from them to the nearest hospital. If the victim does not need to go to hospital, the girls working for the initiative help to calm her down and try to convince her to submit a report to the police against the harassers. “The technique we use varies, depending on whether it's a case of individual or group harassment. “Group harassment is increasing. It happened in Tahrir Square on the second anniversary of the revolution. It seems to be organised and the harassers harm the girl or the woman; sometimes they rape her," he continued. “I have the experience to differentiate between haphazard group harassment and the organised group harassment, which happened recently in Tahrir Square and the nearby Mohamed Mahmoud Street. "I'm convinced that the harassers want to make women afraid to take to the streets and demand their rights. They wanted to terrorise them by hurting the thing most prized in our Oriental society – their virginity." Hurtful crime One of the victims of group harassment was Hanya Moheb, a journalist. She was in Tahrir late last January, celebrating the second anniversary of January 25 Revolution and, like many others, protesting against Morsi's policies. Little did she imagine what was about to happen to her, as she courageously told a TV talk show. She said that, while she was in Tahrir, an ambulance entered the Square and the people on either side of it backed away, in order to let it pass. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by about 50 men. “They encircled me in an organised way and began to move me a little distance away from the Square," said Hanya. “They began to harass me, but at the same time said that they were helping me and wanted me to be safe, which of course was not true." They pulled off her pants and spent the next 40 minutes intruding on her body. Throughout her ordeal, she shouted for help and tried to beat off her harassers, but all in vain. No-one could hear her, as the voices of the harassers were louder; even if anyone could hear, they would have thought the harassers were trying to help and comfort someone. “It seemed to me that they'd done this before, as they were so organised, all of them saying the same thing. None of them said anything insulting or derogatory or anything about their sexual desires. It was very strange. “I thought I was going to die. “But finally some other men took off their belts and started flogging the harassers, forcing them to back off. They then helped me get in an ambulance. I myself didn't see what exactly was going on, but an eyewitness did and told a local newspaper," she added. There were 22 other similar incidents reported in just four hours on the same day and in the same place. Psychological effects A recent study by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights said that 98 per cent of foreign female visitors and 83 per cent of Egyptian women have experienced sexual harassment. “This sexual harassment affects the psychology of the girls or women who experience it; it may have a permanent, negative effect," warns Dr Manal Omar, psychologist. “The harassed girls feel traumatised, powerless, stigmatised and betrayed." “The victim should tell people about what has happened to her, she should talk," Dr Manal stresses. “Disclosure is the first step in their treatment." She says that what has been happening in Tahrir over the past few months is organised harassment, rather than something caused by sexual disorder. It is used for political purposes; it's a hurtful, totally unacceptable crime. “Pretending that they are helping the victims when they really want to harass them means they are thinking of one thing and doing the opposite; when harassing the girls, there should be the desire for sexual gratification, but that doesn't happen," she explains. “These are organised groups and their goal is not sexual gratification." Nagy said that they are holding workshops to teach people how to deal with the harassers. And they are also working on a programme in collaboration with schools for teaching teenagers humane principles, such as respect for females, in addition to related psychological topics.
