Jul. 23, 2008
Shelly Paz , THE JERUSALEM POST

Almost two-thirds of Egyptian men harass women and believe their victims bring it on themselves when they wear tight and revealing clothes, according to a study released over the weekend by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights in Cairo.



The study, titled "Clouds in Egypt's Sky," was released as part of the group's "Making our Streets Safer for Everyone" campaign launched in 2006.

Egypt has yet to initiate a serious legal struggle against sexual violence. Some 20,000 rape cases were reported in 2006, according to a report published by the Egyptian National Center for Criminal and Social Research last year.

Half of local and foreign women surveyed were sexually harassed in some way, according to the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights study. Ninety-eight percent of the foreign women, who visited Egypt for tourist, educational and professional reasons, said they experienced sexual harassment during their stay.

Furthermore, 88% of respondents, women and men, had witnessed an incident involving sexual harassment.

Of the Egyptians men surveyed, 62.4% said they had perpetrated and/or "continue to perpetrate" harassment of women.

The sexual harassment committed by Egyptian men included touching without permission, staring, making insulting sexual comments and exposing their genitals to women.

Fifty-three percent of the male respondents said women were to blame for sexual harassment because they enjoyed it and because they dressed in revealing clothing. Most women who were harassed did not file a complaint with the police and most incidents took place in the street, public transportation or tourist sites.

According to the study, most Egyptians believe sexual harassment is a growing problem due to the deteriorating economy, a lack of awareness and the weakening of religious values.

The Egyptian Center for Women's Rights was founded in 1996 by six women in Cairo's Dar el-Salaam neighborhood to provide poor women with legal aid and to promote women's legal and political rights.

In March, the center launched a "Million Signatures Campaign" in support of strengthened legislation criminalizing sexual harassment. "The stories we collected from women about their experiences with harassment confirmed our fears that the worsening of this phenomenon has led to psychological effects as well as a decrease in women's willingness to go into the streets and participate in political and public life," the center said in a statement.

Here's the link http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid...icle%2FShowFull



The statement in red was the most telling to me. Also, I know there was a Million Signatures Campaign in Iran, but I don't know if the Cairo center is part of that or a completely different movement.

wow...thats just sad...

and the sad part it is not just Egypt. It happens in all kinds of cultures all over the world.

Gee, I can't imagine why that is.

So sad It happened to my gf, (btw is in hijab..does NOT wear revealing clothing) and she was flashed by a man in the street of her neighborhood in Cairo! Disgusting

You know I know there are millions of Egyptians who do not hold these views, so I read this article as more of a postive statement of how things are changing due to the hard work of many Egyptians.

I also suspect that there are many Americans who think in this way. Probably more than we would like to admit. How many times have I heard someone say, well she brought this upon herself or something in that vein.

I posted an article about this recentally too. When I first read it I was really surprised because I didn't encounter this during my stay in Egypt however I was always with my Husband. I am really shocked by the statistic that 20,000 women annually reported they had been raped.

The statement that they brought it on themselves reminds me of the fight here in America that women do with, "Take back the night." I'm sure most of you are aware of that.

As I was posting this I thought to myself "I am being Olivia"

When will we get some ppl posting the other MENA country articles besides Egypt, Israel, Algeria, and Palestine?

Jordan doesn't really make international news much I guess I could look for things from the Jordan Times..

That would be good. I'm just curious to learn more about the other countries of the Middle East North Africa. It's like looking at a large puzzle and each piece puts the picture together for me.