In Egypt, sexual harassment grows

Parliament is expected to consider a measure in its next session that wouldcriminalize harassment, which 83 percent of women say they face.

By Liam Stack | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the September 23, 2008 edition

Cairo – As May Zayed gets ready to leave for her downtown office, she tries to prepare for the harassment she’ll face on the street. The 20-something member of Egypt’s large working class says she has learned to tune out most lewd comments. But it’s impossible to ignore everything. “There is no way to get ready for it,” she says. “It just becomes part of your normal life.”

According to a study released by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) in July, 62 percent of Egyptian men admit to sexually harassing women, and 83 percent of Egyptian women reported being harassed. Half say it happens every day. It was the first study of its kind.

“Harassment is a real issue here, and it has gotten worse over the last 10 years,” says Rebecca Chiao, international relations coordinator of the ECWR. “A lot of people say that up until the 1970s there was very little harassment in Egypt, but things are very different now.”

Egypt’s parliament is expected to consider a measure in its next session, which convenes in November, that would make harassment a crime and make it easier for women to report to the police. Specifics on the law have not been made public. It remains to be seen if it will actually be introduced this year, and if so how successful it will be in tackling such a widespread problem.

On the street, some women are fighting back. Fatma Abdel Raziq is broad-shouldered in a black cloak and a veil that covers half of her red hair. She sells knickknacks on a street corner, and says harassment seems to gets worse every day, “especially from men with some money.”

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