WUNRN
EGYPT - REVOLUTION BUT CONTINUING
SAFETY ISSUES FOR WOMEN
Reuters Trustlaw //
Reenat Sinay - 10 January 2012
LONDON (TrustLaw)--Despite an
increasing feeling of empowerment experienced by many Egyptian women during and
after the revolution, they continue to be sexually harassed and abused by men
in public on a daily basis, as recent coverage of events in Cairo—from
“virginity tests” conducted by the military to male assaults on female
protesters—illustrated.
It is a problem that long
predates the Arab Spring. In 2008, a survey by the
The survey also concluded that
62.5% of Egyptian men actually admitted to sexually harassing women and many of
them blame the victims. Furthermore, many women don’t realize that they are
even being abused.
“
Attitudes towards women have
been changing slowly, with increased media attention and visibility in public
life. But with conservative Islamists likely to win the current elections and a
deep-rooted cultural bias against women, women question whether the energy that
came out of the revolution will be strong enough to create lasting change,
according to Amin.
“The momentum they started is
irreversible,” said Amin, referring to women’s role in the revolution. “Young
girls are taking charge; they feel a stake in their country.”
However, women’s newfound voice
in society does not seem to reflect an improvement in their safety.
“Daily life in
Daily News
“Some women consider some forms
of sexual harassment as ‘normal behavior’; men being men or boys being boys,”
she said.
The issue recently received
international attention after the brutal assault by a mob of men on CBS
reporter and
Worldwide disgust at these
events and an increased focus on the issue by the Egyptian media has raised
awareness of the problem.
It is talked about more openly
in
“I walked out of the cinema
feeling so empowered, smoking my cigarette, daring people to approach me,” said
Amin of the award-winning film.
There are now tools like
HarassMap, created by Rebecca Chiao and Engy Ghozlan, to draw attention to the
issue as well as protect women from harassment. HarassMap is an
interactive online map in which women anonymously report where they were
harassed and can even classify the type of assault. The site aggregates reports
and visually shows the hot spots for sexual harassment.
The results of the 2008 ECWR
survey also influenced the drafting of a law against sexual harassment that
sets the legal terms for what sexual harassment encompasses as well has
criminalizing the act.
“If a woman knows that she is
protected by the law, she will feel safe,” said Safaa Abdoun. “At the same
time, you are talking about a major social problem, so the mindset of these men
has to change in order for this problem to not exist.”
Noha Rushdy, a then 27-year-old
filmmaker, was the first woman to act on this law in 2008, demanding police
action after her assault, which led to the first criminal prosecution for
sexual harassment in
Abdoun describes this moment as
“a turning point that got people and the media to talk about it.”
However, some believe the key
may lie in addressing socio-economic issues facing the country.
Poverty, unemployment,
and lack of equal opportunity are issues that may indirectly lead to sexual
harassment, according to Said Sadek, professor of political science and
sociology at the
“It’s mostly unemployed men,”
he said. “Marriage is expensive, and this is often their only sexual outlet”.
Shahira Amin agreed.
“Because of frustration at the
lack of progress [after the revolution], men are angrier and taking their anger
out on women,” she said.
This was evident on
International Women’s Day in
“Their view is that women shouldn’t
compete for jobs, they don’t want them to have an equal role in public life,”
Amin said of these men.
An important symbolic step
forward may be Bothaina Kamel’s candidacy in the presidential elections, which
has brought a lot of attention to women’s rights in
“
However, Kamel’s role in the
elections has perhaps already served its purpose, according to Amin.
“Bothaina Kamel shattered the
glass ceiling,” she said. “She knows that she won’t win, but voices are now
being heard and I think that was her motive.”
Though there is hope that the
current elections will bring about positive change for the Egyptian people, the
prospect of Islamists winning the elections may reduce leadership possibilities
for women and may lead to the institution of Sharia law.
Despite this possibility, Amin
is optimistic about women’s rights in
“The energy is incredible and
they want to be politically involved,” she said. Women have found their voice
and it’s our revolution too; we are fighting back.”