Comments on: Two-thirds of Egyptian men harass women?

By: Lozah

Lozah — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:06:02 +0000

I’ve been living in Egypt for 16 years and can say that harassment is a real problem, and it’s getting worse. A scary incident of mass sexual harassment caused controversy a couple of years ago when on the 1st day of Eid ul-Fitr groups of men surrounded women on the street harassing them, pulling of their hijabs, even women in abayas and niqab got harassed. The police didn’t believe them until a citizen reporter posted a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2SGamUeMec&feature=player_embedded. Watch the video. No this isn’t a protest or a rally or anything, it’s just a few girls walking, with throngs of men following them!
I wrote about the phenomenon of harassment here http://bikyamasr.wordpress.com/2009/06/24/bm-news-lozah-responds-to-sexual-harassment/

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:05:10 +0000

I think if women took a more aggresive response to the problem it would make them think twice. Like spitting, or slapping or hitting with stick. The umbrella can be a great weapon!!!!

By: Khadija

Khadija — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:53:56 +0000

I went to egypt and I HATED the sexual harassment
the fact that you need to wear an abaya or niqab to lessen harassment is ridiculous to even consider…

there are non-muslims in that country and plenty of foreign tourists for one
and for two, there is no excuse for masturbating in front of a woman
i mean come on….

please don’t defend sexual harassment with the wisdom of hijab; im not saying there is no wisdom of hijab i wear hijab but i HATE when people bring it up in cases of sexual harassment

insult sexual harassment with the wisdom of lowering the gaze first

By: some1fromsaudi

some1fromsaudi — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:39:03 +0000

How can you compare rare or occasional sexual crimes with egypt’s daily crimes and then say what you said about the niqab. Saudi Arabia’s sexual crimes are not even close to egypt’s. If all women stopped wearing hijab and niqab in saudi, this will increase sexual harassment and especially ogling in saudi. Just ask anyone who’s lived or is living in saudi.

The number of sexual harassment cases depend on many things including what women wear, that’s a fact. A guy can tell you that. Ask a guy!!!!

I’m in no way supporting what the men are doing in egypt. It’s the fault of both. And it’s the men who are more sick and more at fault because they are the ones actually committing the crime with their hands/tongues. The women are at fault because they know that men would harass them if they wear these clothes, and they still do.

I’m not saying harassment would stop if women stopped wearing tight clothes, but it would surely lessen.

And Allah knows best.
AssalamAlaykum

By: anon

anon — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:51:13 +0000

What Umm Amani said is so true, about women blaming the women. Shirien’s comments made that amply clear. When she basically laid the blame on the women who wear hijab “improperly” The onus should be on the man with the dick. Not the women.

And if niqaab supposedly works so splendidly than why are there all those reports of hugely pregnant women in niqaab and old ladies in niqaab also being sexually harrassed in Saudi Arabia? Let me guess, they are wearing niqaab improperly. Sexual crimes and sexual violence have nothing to do with what a woman wears. If “proper” hijab and niqaab worked so well there would be no such crimes in Afghanistan or Saudi.

By: Asim

Asim — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:01:40 +0000

Here’s the article I think Br. Dawud was talking about: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/world/middleeast/17youth.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

By: Umm Amani

Umm Amani — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:46:55 +0000

ASA- There are jerks everywhere you go. Having said that, when you have a culture where women tend to think that other women somehow deserve to be harrassed, what do you expect the average man in that society to think?

By: Your sister

Your sister — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:38:50 +0000

thats…horrible -.-

By: confused

confused — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:34:11 +0000

This is a HUGE problem in Egypt. I am a Muslim Egyptian American and visit Cairo every summer to see my family. It is impossible to walk alone without having a male or an older female with you. But as Shirien said above, despite that they wait for the right moment to say something that makes you want to just turn and slap them. You could wear jilbab or even niqab and still have this happen to you so its not an issue of the way the women in Egypt dress, especially since the majority of women wear hijab.

Its like Dawud said, Egypt is having a huge issue with marriage. Because there are no jobs and since the demands of brides are so high and much its close to impossible for a guy to afford to get married. This leaves you with a lot of single guys who end up either becoming religious or harrassing women on streets.

By: shirien

shirien — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:33:40 +0000

sure hijab DOES protect women. most girls in egypt though dont wear hijab correctly.. they still wear tight clothes. i get harassed a lot less now because i wear abayah, and niqaabis hardly get harassed.

it’s HERE you see the wisdom behind hijab.

the girls that dont wear hijab at all are the ones that get harassed the most, not only with guys saying things to them but they try to touch them too.

they are pigs, but then again.. they live on the streets and arent religious.