Women Battle To Report Sexual Harassment in Egypt

Read the full story here.

UPDATE: the article has also been published on the Huffington Post.

Sexual harassment in Egypt: facts and figures

For an article I am currently writing I was searching for facts and figures on sexual harassment in Egypt. I came across a 2013 UN Women report that was released recently. 

I think it’s fairly new research, as I haven’t seen much reporting on it. 

As expected, the report is collection of sad statistics, starting with the fact that 99,3% of female respondents claim to have faced sexual harassment. 49,2% of the victims says it happens daily, 19,2% weekly, 7,3% monthly and for only 3,4% it was a single event. 

Picture: Anti-sexual harassment graffiti on one of the walls in downtown Cairo

Picture: 'Are you a man? Or a harassing animal?'

'Are you a man? Or a harassing animal?', a photo by Ester Meerman on Flickr.
Another street artist adapted a set of these posters that were plastered on a wall a bit further down the street:

How to survive Tahrir square as a woman

With the watch towers and the organising of ‘bodyguards’, some people are finally attempting to address the ever increasing sexual assaults on women in Tahrir square. It’s a start, but unfortunately the square is still a very volatile place for a woman. 

I’ve been walking around on Tahrir since the first days of the revolution and here are a few ‘rules’ I’ve picked up along the way that seem to minimize harassment. Most of them may seem fairly obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many females I meet that are completely oblivious to these simple measures. So here goes: 

* A disproportionate amount of sexual assaults seem to take place on Mohammed Mahmoud street, near the Hardee’s and Pizza Hut. The area in front of the Mogamma also appears to be a hot spot. So, as a first rule: avoid those areas. 

* Another obvious one: do not go to the square on your own after dark. I still wonder around Tahrir on my own in the daytime, but never after sunset. That’s when most assaults happen. 

* When walking up to the square, take note of the atmosphere. Are there many guys staring at you, paying attention to you? Is there a disproportionate amount of cat-calling? If so, that is a sign to be extra careful. Also, if the amount of cat-calling, staring and grabbing increases as you walk along, something is obviously up, so make you sure get out as soon as possible. 

678: an Egyptian movie about sexual harassment

678 is an Egyptian movie, made in 2010, about sexual harassment of women in Egypt. 

It's a pretty good film and the issues are addressed realistically (the script was partly based on a true story) and respectfully.
Definitely worth the time for anyone who's interested in the subject. 

Nieuwe column voor De Buitenlandredactie: Cairo made me do it

'Gisteravond heb ik een goede vriend een bloedneus geslagen. Waarom? Was hij vervelend? Begon hij met slaan? Had hij me beledigd? Of kreeg ik weer een oneerbaar voorstel?

Nee, niks van dat alles. Cairo made me do it.

Ik sta op de betreffende vriend te wachten naast de uitgang van een cafe in down town Cairo, niet ver van het Tahrir-plein. Ik ben onkarakteristiek vroeg en hij ongewoon laat, dus ik hou me bezig met wat gedachteloos gebrowse op mijn iphone.

Plotseling voel ik een hand op mijn schouder. Zonder nadenken draai ik me om en haal uit. Mijn vuist komt vol op de neus van mijn ‘belager’ terecht. Het bloed stroomt eruit. Pas dan zie ik dat het mijn vriend is die ik net een bloedneus heb geslagen.'

Lees hier de hele column.

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."