Cairo, Egypt— A study conducted by the UN reports that in 2013 99.3% of women experienced some sort of sexual harassment (El-Rifae). For so many women in Egypt, sexual assault is a reality. Recently, activists have been fighting back to eliminate sexual abuse.
Why is sexual abuse so prevalent in Egypt, and what measures have been adopted to prevent it? It is key to first understand how women were being sexually assaulted in the past. This article will also look at what measures have already been taken to prevent sexual abuse. Rape is a violation of human rights and a violation of one’s body. Rape affects a person not only physically, but psychologically, and is a form of asserting power and dominance by the abuser over the victim.
Sexual abuse is the effect of gender inequality deeply rooted in Egypt’s society. Roger Anis, a photojournalist based in Cairo says, that sexual abuse is caused by a, “combination of factors including political turmoil, poverty, a low standard of education, and religious restrictions”. (Tse) During the 2011 Tahrir Square protests, uprisings against then president, Hosni Mubarak, women were susceptible to “Circles of Hell”. A woman would be surrounded by about one hundred men who would harass the woman by stripping her naked and beating her with belts, knives, and sticks. (Circles) The frequency and the amount of men involved became too overwhelming that law enforcement stopped protecting those subjected to the sexual violence. In fact, police officers contributed to the violence instead of preventing it. (Egypt) “Riot police officers beat me, broke my left arm and my right hand and sexually assaulted me; their supervising officer threatened me with gang rape”, said Mona Eltahawy, a reporter from the New York Times. (Eltahawy) Husbands are also known to frequently torment their wives. Genital mutilations are very common and are used as a repeated form of punishment.
Recently there has been action to prevent sexual assault. On the federal level, after the election of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the government took immediate action and implemented laws that punish the sexual assaulter. (El-Rifae) In fact, Sissi had personally brought flowers to a victim of sexual assault in the hospital. (Farouk) After staying silent for so many years people are relieved that the government has finally taken steps to declare sexual assault a crime and be more stringent when enforcing the law. However, for many women and human rights groups, the new legislation does not go far enough to protect their rights. For example, the definition of harassment, stated in the law, does not encompass all forms of harassment, technically making it legal for men to be sexually abused. (El-Rifae). However, women are taking measures towards sexual abuse prevention. Female police officers have been employed by the Interior Ministry and regulate the streets over holidays. Women are starting to carry small, portable, cheap weapons like pepper spray for protection. (Farouk) The purpose of these activist groups is to empower, help women become more confident, and learn self defense mechanisms.
Almost 100% of Egypt’s women have been sexually harassed or assaulted due to the accepted idea that men have more power than women and they have a right to exercise this. To this day, women are still being abused, but human and women's rights groups, with support from the government, are tackling this issue to eradicate sexual abuse completely. Experts agree that the first step in defeating sexual assault is to first recognize the problem is real and to be properly educated on the topic.
"Circles of Hell:" Domestic, Public and State Violence Against Women in Egypt." Amnesty International USA. Amnesty International USA, 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 7 Mar. 2017.
"Egypt: Epidemic of Sexual Violence." Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 8 Mar. 2017.
Eltahawy, Mona. "Egypt Has a Sexual Violence Problem." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 June 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
El-Rifae, Yasmin. "Egypt's Sexual Harassment Law: An Insufficient Measure to End Sexual Violence." Middle East Institute. Middle East Institute, 17 July 2014. Web. 6 Mar. 2017.
Farouk, Menna A. "Egypt's Women Find Their Voice against Sexual Harassment." Middle East. Deutsche Welle, 28 Dec. 2016. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
"Surge in sexual abuse by Egypt authorities, report says." Al Jazeera America, 19 May 2015. Global Issues in Context. Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.
Tse, Jen. "Inside Egypt's Sexual Harassment Crisis." Time. Time, 3 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.
Very strong voice, strong argument. Main takeaway is that Egypt has a problem of sexism.
ReplyDeleteYou did a really good job with connecting your quotes to your to your topic and you have a really interesting hook!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of your paper is your hook. My main-take away is that rape is a serious issue in Africa and should not be taken lightly. A follow-up question I have is: Are men sexually assaulted in Africa as well?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you recognized how deeply rooted the problem is in the country by calling out law enforcement officers who participated in sexual violence. My main take away is that rape is a wide spread problem and those who are being paid to protect it are actually a part of the problem. One question that I have is: Does this sexual violence take place in such a large and violent way when high government officials are involved.
ReplyDeleteI found the personal account you included in your piece to really ground the idea that so many women face such a horrible reality in Egypt. I think that you were able to approach a very serious topic and remain informative and not let bias influence the direction of your paper. This is a really important skill as a writer and I think that you demonstrated it very well throughout this piece.
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