Picture Post (16): End Sexual Harassment Protest

End Sexual Harassment Protest, a set on Flickr.

As you can see from the pictures above, yesterday's protest in Tahrir square against sexual harassment was a bit of a sad affair. There were far more men than women, and far more foreign women than Egyptian women. There were about fifty attendees in total, most of them (Egyptian) men and photographers/journalists.

An American journalist I talked to didn't seem to think this posed a problem. "Anyone who shows up to show support is valuable, whether they are Egyptian or not."

True, but it would have been a much more powerful protest if more Egyptian women had been there. After all it's their rights that are under dispute, and the legitimacy of their protest is at stake when foreigners have to come argue their point.

Yesterday was a very hot day, but I think it's sad when Egyptian women themselves can't even be bothered to come out and stand in the scorching sun for a few hours to defend their rights. It can easily be interpreted as them simply not giving a shit.