From BBC News – Link to full article
Sexual harassment of women in Egypt is on the increase and observing Islamic dress code is no deterrent, according to a survey published this week.
The Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights (ECWR) describes the problem as a social cancer and calls on the government to introduce legislation to curb it.
The findings contradict the widely held belief in Egypt that unveiled women are more likely to suffer harassment than veiled ones.
Participants in the survey were shown pictures of women wearing different kinds of dress – from the mini skirt to the niqab (full face veil) and asked which were more likely to be harassed.
More than 60% – including female respondents – suggested the scantily clad woman was most at risk. But in reality the study concluded the majority of the victims of harassment were modestly dressed women wearing Islamic headscarves.
ECWR head Nihad Abu El-Qoumsan said that even veiled women who were victims of harassment blamed themselves.
Western women who took part in the study demonstrated a strong belief in their entitlement to personal safety and freedom of movement, she says, but this was totally absent among Egyptian respondents.
And a few statistics from the survey:
SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN EGYPT
Experienced by 98% of foreign women visitors Experienced by 83% of Egyptian women 62% of Egyptian men admitted harassing women 53% of Egyptian men blame women for ‘bringing it on’ Source: Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights
And this should surprise, absolutely nobody. Every single Egyptian knows it, every single foreigner who has spent more than a few hours in transit through Cairo knows it. Been there. Been harassed. Got the T-shirt. The only thing that surprises me about this report is the last two statistics in this list above. 62% of men admitted it, yet 53% blame women for “bringing it on”. Now, pay attention, here comes the maths bit.
For the sake of simplicity let’s leave foreigners out of the equation. 83% of Egyptian females have been sexually harassed, yet only 62% of men admit to committing the offence, whilst 53% of men say “she started it”. Obviously, more than 62% of men commit this act, yet whilst the majority of them blame the woman for it (this argument fits into a category of academic argument known as “bullshit”) they are still unwilling to admit to have committed it themselves. Thus we can conclude that this group are either in denial to the point of actually seeing what they are doing as harassment (and so wouldn’t admit to it because they don’t think what they do counts), or they know they have done wrong, but both lie about it, and then turn the whole thing around by blaming the victim for it, had it occurred, which of course, it didn’t.
Moral crisis doesn’t even begin to describe it. Sexual harassment of one of several manifestations of serious, festering problems amongst Egyptian society.
Everyone, of course, wants to find the root of these problems in their own pet hate… Government, poverty, religion, unemployment, lack of a future, overpopulation, globalisation, dust storms, train delays, rage infected monkeys, whatever. It is, as always, a more complex issue. There is a whole combination of factors. Yes, years of malicious comments from the pulpits have played their part, but what is driving people to follow such preachers in the first place? What about the Coptic community? A simple one answer solution, pointing out a single evil merely appeals to a desire for sensationalism and “quick fix” solutions.
If there is one thing recent Egyptian history should teach us is that there are no simple answers, and quick fix solutions have a habit of creating new long term problems. Serious, long term study and considered, deliberate actions are what is desperately needed, not knee jerk reactions and rushed though, ill thought out responses.
Tags: BBC, Current Affairs, ECWR, Egypt, Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights, isfet, Modern Culture, modern Egypt, News, News Analysis, Nihad Abu El-Qoumsan, Sexual Harassment, Women in Egypt, Women's Rights
November 18, 2008 at 5:39 am
I’m working on an academic paper in Canada on the comparison of womens rights regarding sexual harassment and health in Egypt as compared to Canada. After three months of research, the only thing close to a beginning of a solution, I’ve seen so far, would be to completely remove religion from the laws of Egypt, and to change how children are educated throughout their lives.
Imagine how often someone would re-think attacking someone if boy were taught that it is illegal to attack women, and to teach girls that they have a right to live without that kind of abuse.
That said, my research, to this point, also talked heavily of women being divorced or murdered for having been assaulted, on the basis that they somehow invited it and cheated/were sluts. If that’s the current mentality among the common families, no wonder it’s so hard. Much of the research also said that the majority of harassments and assaults were committed by family members of the girls/women, so again, social change is going to be bloody and radical if anyone in the next three generations (or more) wants to see any real differences.
Also… if women believe that to avoid being attacked, they must wear a hijab, is that not a form of oppression in that they are still subjected, by law and religion, to the whims of men?