CAIRO: Egyptian activists have launched an initiative to blog against annual sexual harassment during feasts and holidays. The initiative aims to combat sexual harassment, which is common during holidays and feasts in Egypt, including Eid al-Fitr, which comes at the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity from dawn to dusk. Eid al-Fitr will be the first feast in Egypt following the country's January uprising that toppled the 30-year regime of Hosni Mubarak. The initiative, sponsored by HarassMap, will use blogging on social networking sites to raise awareness against sexual harassment. "We will not be negative. We will oppose sexual harassment form the very first day of Eid al-Fitr," said initiative volunteers. HarrassMap is an initiative launched by human rights activists last year to combat sexual harassment on the streets of Egypt. During Eid al-Fitr in 2006, a mob of young men attacked a group of young women standing in line outside a cinema in downtown Cairo. Many women were physically attacked and some sexually molested.
