Egyptian women learn martial arts to ward off harassment
By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
09.12.2013
Cairo (dpa) - Mai Khaled carefully watches her coach demonstrating self-defence techniques like hitting someone in the face or the knee.
Because rising sexual violence often goes unpunished in Egypt and its victims are blamed and stigmatized, women like Khaled are learning how to defend themselves at martial art classes run by advocacy groups.
Tahrir Bodyguard, which means Liberation Bodyguard and also refers to the main square in Cairo where mass protests are often held, is one such group teaching women basic self-defence.
"I don't know if I will ever apply any of this in a situation when I am being attacked, but it is important to know the weak points of the body and keep them in my mind," says Khaled, a 50-year-old writer.
She and a dozen women are taught how to interpret a harasser's body language, read the situation and project confidence.
About 186 cases of sexual violence against women were reported between June 28 and July 7 during street protests against then-president Mohammed Morsi, according to Nazra, a feminist non-governmental organization.
Eighty of these assaults occurred July 3 when people were celebrating Morsi’s overthrow by the army.
Five advocacy groups are running a 16-day campaign launched November 25 to raise awareness of the problem in a conservative society whose problems have been compounded by deteriorating security since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosny Mubarak.
The campaign is meant to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25 and Human Rights Day on December 10.
Organizers have planned open discussions, film screenings and performances in several provinces.
“Unfortunately, there is an acceptance in society of sexual violence crimes," said Ebaa Eltamami of HarassMap, a volunteer-based advocacy group against sexual violence. "So we are focusing on changing the concepts that led to this.”
In 2010, several rights groups proposed changing the law to make sexual harassment a punishable crime.
“The law does not name sexual harassment,” Amal al-Mohandes of Nazra said. "It mentions adultery, indecent assault and rape. There is no mention of the different types of rape, including rape using objects or multiple-perpetrator rape."
In March 2011, amendments to the penal code imposed a jail sentence of up to 15 years for “sexual assault” and from six months to two years for verbal abuse. However, rights activists and lawyers argued that such amendments have done little to curb the problem.
Authorities announced plans for new legislation after a spike in attacks in 2012 and 2013 but have yet to follow through, Amnesty International said.
“This is a social epidemic," al-Mohandes said. "The continuation of such crimes will close the public domain in the face of women, and this is a disaster. No one will be able to bear its consequences.”
Dalia Abdel-Hameed, a researcher at the non-profit Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said sexual violence in Egypt has grown rapidly since 2005 when pro-government thugs sexually assaulted female journalists protesting against the government.
“The state and the people faced this development with denial, which somehow gave attackers immunity, and their crimes went unpunished,” Abdel-Hameed said.
She said that as women’s presence in the public domain has increased since the 2011 uprising, physical violence against women has reached “unprecedented levels.”
“Society's normalization of sexual violence has made it acceptable as a daily reality, not just during protests, but we also see it during concerts or any crowded event, even on public transport,” she said.
A 2013 survey by UN Women showed that more than 80 per cent of women in Egypt do not feel safe in the streets or on public transportation.
“If we do not face the immunity that society gives to rapists and attackers or the culture of blaming the victim, then it will be hard to change anything,” Abdel-Hameed said.
Many campaigns were launched in recent years to counter sexual assaults. Many tell men “to protect your mother, sister, wife, daughter and yourself.”
However, Abdel-Hameed was not keen on using the same concept in the latest campaign.
“We do not want anyone to consider us their sisters; we just want them to leave us alone," she said.
