Seven Egyptian women talk about their experience of sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo. It is an increasingly common problem, with a recent survey suggesting more than four out of five women have been sexually harassed, while nearly two-thirds of men admitted assaulting women.
TV announcer |  |
Shop worker |
School pupil | |
Engineer |
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Auditor
"My mother says I shouldn't answer back but I think this is wrong"
Read the entire article and all interviews here
Read the entire article and all interviews here
4 comments:
Oh my God, that's unbelievable! Of course I knew that many Arabic men don't respect women but I didn't think that even covered women get harassed on the streets so many times! I will soon go to Cairo for 2 months and I'm a bit afraid now. Do they also harass Western women or is this strictly forbidden? What is your experience?
It seems Egyptian women don't have any rights concerning sexuality. :-( Makes me feel sad.
Bianca,
Its not all bad. As a woman you may be more unsafe in say New York or Los Angeles where incidence of rapes are high. That at least is not so much of a danger in Egypt.
In my experience, if I stick to tourist areas, expat areas or residential areas, there isn't that much hassle.
If I have my husband or a male friend walking with me, I hardly face any trouble at all.
Its also a matter of projection and confidence. If you have a "don't mess with me" attitude coming thru in your body language, you will be pretty much left alone.
Just make sure to not wear anything ultra skimpy. cover shoulders to knees at least
If I were to interrupt, harassament in the Egypt street, though widespread, annoying, degrading, and certainly deserves the term "harrassment", it is not sexual harassment in the classic sense of the word. I think it's a passive expression of sexual and moral frustration...sexual in terms of not getting sex...moral in terms of using quite rediculous, sometimes childish, certainly amateurish ways of talking to a woman...the end result, many women, especially liberal ones or foreigners feel uncomfortable - certainly and sadly so, yet still, the chances of real sexual harassement in the sense of one involving a physical touch, a real danger or even a psychological peril is very limited on the streets of Cairo.
tarek osman
Tarek Osman, try being a woman in Cairo for a day then come back and rewrite your comment.
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