Sexual harassment heated issue in Egypt after Cairo assault
By Nehal El-Sherif
09.06.2014
Cairo (dpa) - Seven men were arrested Monday for multiple acts of sexual assault against women after a graphic video circulating online showed one woman being rescued naked from a mob during celebrations of the new president's inauguration.
The Interior Ministry said the men - aged between 15 and 49 - are under investigation for harassing several women in Cairo's central Tahrir square Sunday night.
The pressure group I Saw Harassment said Monday that there were at least five cases of collective sexual assault monitored in Tahrir Square, four of them requiring medical support from nearby hospitals, and one requiring psychological support.
In the online video, policemen as well as men in civilian clothes seem to try to free a bleeding naked woman from a mob and escort her to an ambulance.
The prosecutor general in addition asked for all footage taken in Tahrir to be handed over to the authorities for investigation.
The harassment cases prompted the army forces deployed in the area to evacuate the square after thousands gathered to celebrate President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi assuming power.
The I Saw Harassment group also criticized local media for not taking reports of sexual assault seriously.
The group made reference to an incident Sunday night when a reporter on the privately-owned Tahrir Channel attempted to talk about the assaults but was interrupted by the programme host who said: “They are happy, the people are having fun."
The incident comes days after the government passed a law stipulating harsher punishments for sexual harassment, including between six months and five years in prison those found guilty.
Reports of sexual harassment in Egypt have increased sharply in recent years. A 2013 survey by the United Nations women's rights organization UN Women showed that more than 80 per cent of women in Egypt do not feel safe in the streets or on public transportation.
09.06.2014
Cairo (dpa) - Seven men were arrested Monday for multiple acts of sexual assault against women after a graphic video circulating online showed one woman being rescued naked from a mob during celebrations of the new president's inauguration.
The Interior Ministry said the men - aged between 15 and 49 - are under investigation for harassing several women in Cairo's central Tahrir square Sunday night.
The pressure group I Saw Harassment said Monday that there were at least five cases of collective sexual assault monitored in Tahrir Square, four of them requiring medical support from nearby hospitals, and one requiring psychological support.
In the online video, policemen as well as men in civilian clothes seem to try to free a bleeding naked woman from a mob and escort her to an ambulance.
The prosecutor general in addition asked for all footage taken in Tahrir to be handed over to the authorities for investigation.
The harassment cases prompted the army forces deployed in the area to evacuate the square after thousands gathered to celebrate President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi assuming power.
The I Saw Harassment group also criticized local media for not taking reports of sexual assault seriously.
The group made reference to an incident Sunday night when a reporter on the privately-owned Tahrir Channel attempted to talk about the assaults but was interrupted by the programme host who said: “They are happy, the people are having fun."
The incident comes days after the government passed a law stipulating harsher punishments for sexual harassment, including between six months and five years in prison those found guilty.
Reports of sexual harassment in Egypt have increased sharply in recent years. A 2013 survey by the United Nations women's rights organization UN Women showed that more than 80 per cent of women in Egypt do not feel safe in the streets or on public transportation.
