In keeping with a 2013 UN Ladies examine, practically 99 p.c of girls in Egypt reported experiencing sexual harassment. Harassment is an concern so deeply embedded in society that it has develop into part of Egyptian girls’s day-to-day life.
A 2014 examine by HarassMap, an initiative based in 2010 that makes use of SMS reporting and group outreach to fight harassment, discovered that 95 p.c of 300 girls surveyed in Better Cairo confronted related points.
Though no current statistics exist on harassment in Egypt, the yearly deployment of cops within the nation’s largest cities throughout holidays equivalent to Eid and strengthened harassment fines in 2023 point out that the difficulty stays prevalent.
Equally, a 2020 Arab Barometer report reaffirmed that sexual harassment in public areas stays widespread. Regardless of ongoing efforts to sort out the difficulty, harassment continues to be a persistent actuality for a lot of Egyptian girls, as a number of viral incidents in recent times have made clear.
One such incident occurred in Outdated Cairo in July 2024, when a lady jumped from a shifting tuk-tuk, fearing assault from the driving force. The driving force was arrested on 9 July 2024 after she filed a police report. Equally, in February 2024, Habiba El-Shamaa, an Uber passenger, jumped out of a shifting automotive, fearing she could be kidnapped. The autumn brought about extreme mind harm, and she or he tragically handed away in March.
These instances spotlight how harassment can shortly escalate into harmful, even life-threatening conditions.
Whereas excessive incidents seize public consideration, Egyptian girls nonetheless endure each day harassment, starting from verbal abuse to unwelcome advances.
Grassroots Actions In opposition to Sexual Harassment
The rise of anti-harassment initiatives in Egypt started in 2012, as social actions sought to sort out the surge in harassment and assault throughout public holidays like Eid.
Initiatives equivalent to Basma (Imprint), Shoft Taharosh (I noticed harassment), and Did El Taharosh (In opposition to harassment) emerged to intervene in crowded areas like purchasing facilities and cinemas, the place offenders usually acted with impunity, largely because of the absence of rapid penalties or regulation enforcement in public settings.
Across the identical time, between 2012 and 2014, anti-harassment civilian teams like Opantish (Operation Anti Sexual Harassment) and Tahrir Bodyguard had been shaped to fight the mass assaults and rapes that occurred throughout the Tahrir Sq. protests between 2011 and 2014.
This wave of activism was largely fueled by the Egyptian revolution, which created new public platforms for ladies—and society at giant—to brazenly focus on sexual harassment and violence.
One notably horrific case that gained consideration throughout this era was a 2014 gang rape at Cairo’s Fairmont Resort, which solely resurfaced within the public eye in 2020 when survivors spoke out.
Extra just lately, the 2020 Ahmed Bassam Zaki case, wherein over 50 girls accused him of harassment and abuse, led to a renewed outcry and impressed much more girls to return ahead with their tales. In December 2020, Zaki was sentenced to 11 years in jail. This case ignited Egypt’s #MeToo motion, with girls utilizing social media to show harassment, regardless of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These initiatives actively empower girls to report harassment whereas providing important authorized, psychological, and social help.
Communicate Up
Based in 2020, Communicate Up is an Egyptian feminist initiative devoted to serving to girls dealing with harassment and violence. The platform provides authorized steering, safety from blackmail, and educates girls on the legal guidelines that safeguard them. One among its key successes has been advocating for amendments that criminalized Feminine Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Egypt.
Communicate Up additionally performs a major position in high-profile instances, such because the case of Michael Fahmy and his spouse, Sally Adel, who had been accused of serial raping and utilizing the church as a canopy for his or her crimes over a span of 20 years. The prosecution charged Fahmy, a physician, and his spouse with kidnapping and sexually assaulting six minor women beneath the guise of medical remedy. Communicate Up has obtained over 70 testimonies from victims of Fahmy’s abuse and continues to be instrumental in bringing the case to Egypt’s prosecution, making certain that the victims’ voices are heard.
HarassMap
Based in 2010, HarassMap operates on the idea that collective motion can finish sexual harassment. It makes use of an SMS system the place victims and witnesses report incidents by messaging 6069, that are then verified and mapped to focus on harassment hotspots.
Volunteers go to these areas for group outreach, elevating consciousness and decreasing tolerance to harassment.
The initiative promotes particular person and institutional accountability by encouraging intervention and making position fashions of those that take a stand, aiming to discourage future incidents.
Assault Police
Launched in 2020, Assault Police had a transformative impression on the anti-harassment motion.
It empowered girls to interrupt their silence, with many coming ahead to share their tales, particularly throughout the high-profile case of Ahmed Bassam Zaki, accused of harassing over 50 girls. The initiative shattered the taboo surrounding sexual violence, making it simpler for individuals to talk up. Though Assault Police is not lively, its long-term results proceed to form the dialog round harassment in Egypt.
Furthermore, different initiatives have additionally emerged. UN Ladies launched two key applications in 2013: “Think about Her Your Sister,” an anti-harassment marketing campaign at Kafr El-Sheikh College, and “Begin from Residence,” which helps women-led small companies at Zagazig College. Nonprofits like Heya Masr Basis, based in 2014, supply self-defense and consciousness applications, equipping girls with instruments to guard themselves. As well as, Communicate Up, which stays lively, continues to supply essential help for ladies dealing with harassment and violence, providing a platform for authorized help and steering, very like Heya Masr and the initiatives launched by UN Ladies.
Collectively, these initiatives mirror a rising motion to boost consciousness, help victims, and create safer areas for Egyptian girls, driving long-term societal change.
