Almost half of Egyptian women harassed daily: poll

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Almost half of Egyptian women harassed daily: poll

Thu Jul 17, 12:22 PM ET

CAIRO (AFP) - Almost half of Egyptian women are sexually harassed on a daily basis with more than half of Egyptian men admitting lewd behaviour, the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights said on Thursday.

The group polled 2,020 people -- including men and foreign women -- in Cairo, and the centre's director, Nihad Abul Qomsan, said that the figures showed harassment was on the rise.

Of those surveyed, 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women said they had been harassed at some point, while 46 percent of Egyptian women and 52 percent of foreign women said they were harassed daily.

Most women said they were harassed in the street or on public transport, with harassment defined as "any unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature which makes women feel uneasy and gives them a feeling of insecurity."

Abul Qomsan said that almost two-thirds of Egyptian men -- 62 percent -- admitted harassing women, including those wearing Islamic headscarves.

"This shows that the belief that harassment is linked to women who wear indecent clothing is false," she said, condemning the fact that in the deeply religious country women often feel responsible despite being victims.

The centre said that last year only 12 percent of women went to the police with a harassment complaint.

In 2006, women's rights activists angrily spoke out against what they called the authorities' acceptance of sexual harassment against women, after a mob of men openly molested women in central Cairo.

The interior ministry said it did not receive any formal complaints and has never admitted any mass harassment occurred despite the incident being widely reported in the press and some bloggers posting footage on the Internet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080717/lf_af...ietywomenrights

Edited July 20, 2008 by Olivia*

[S and S 12]

That is so sad and ridiculous. These men call themselves muslims. If that is so then they should read the versus of the Quran that say they should avert their eyes from women. I am sure the prophet (PBUH) would not have approved of such behavior and yet these men still think it is acceptable to do it. It is funny I just had this discussion with my husband the other day.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

What a coincedence. Earlier this summer I read about this in a book and the expat explained how to deal with this if you suspected this. Personally I didn't have any problems with this but my Husband was with me all the time. I've also read another article like this where a foregin women went to study at a University there and she covered herself even though she wasn't Muslim and she was still harrassed by the men in the surrounding areas of her school. One morning she was cornered and touched by four men and came in frantic to the University demanding that her transfer to Garden City be approved.

[S and S 12]

What a coincedence. Earlier this summer I read about this in a book and the expat explained how to deal with this if you suspected this. Personally I didn't have any problems with this but my Husband was with me all the time. I've also read another article like this where a foregin women went to study at a University there and she covered herself even though she wasn't Muslim and she was still harrassed by the men in the surrounding areas of her school. One morning she was cornered and touched by four men and came in frantic to the University demanding that her transfer to Garden City be approved.

wow, that is crazy when a woman can't even go to school without problems and she was dressed conservatively. I read about it in several books myself. I have seen arab and western women complain of it in several countries. I read about one case in Saudi where an American woman got in a bad car accident and was in a coma for many many months and had to stay in a Saudi hospital. When she finally woke up they discovered she had gotten pregnant while in a coma!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Now that kind of stuff enrages me. When I worked at the hosptial we had one patient that was mentaly deformed. She was beautiful and blind with the mind of a child at 21. She liked me to sing, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" to her. It was explained to me that her Mom was also mentaly deformed and had been in a coma when she became pregnant and this girl I met was the product of that. It was so sad and enraging and to this day they still don't know who the father is.

[Nasturtium 500]

I've heard about this from both Egyptians and Americans.

I'll never understand the attraction of sleeping with an inanimate person-- whether it's a comatose person, necrophilia, or whatever. It just doesn't really seem attractive to me. I think it says a lot about the person who is interested in raping someone like that as well.

[S and S 12]

I've heard about this from both Egyptians and Americans.

I'll never understand the attraction of sleeping with an inanimate person-- whether it's a comatose person, necrophilia, or whatever. It just doesn't really seem attractive to me. I think it says a lot about the person who is interested in raping someone like that as well.

It really sickens me that any man could do such a thing. I like to think Allah has a special place reserved for such men!

[kerewin21 2]

It's like this in Morocco too. People claim to be so religious and devout and they have no problem following women around, yelling things at them, and even touching them.

It's so strange that in a society where it is an accepted norm that unmarried couples don't kiss or spend time alone together that it is also widely accepted to harass and degrade women.

The thing that drives me more nuts than anything else is that when people have been following or harrassing me, the other people around don't lift a finger to help me. I had a guy follow me into a store once and he kept harrassing me and I asked the store owner for help and he just ignored me.

They just watch it happening. So it's not just a few bad seeds, it's a societal problem and it's accepted.

[Nita&Assaad 0]

This happen to me when my Husband and I went to Egypt to visit his family. They thought my husband didn't speak or understand Arabic and they would say things, he got into so many fights, he even slap a teenager; taking him by surprise. I was shocked that the men behaved like that!!!

Almost half of Egyptian women harassed daily: poll

Thu Jul 17, 12:22 PM ET

CAIRO (AFP) - Almost half of Egyptian women are sexually harassed on a daily basis with more than half of Egyptian men admitting lewd behaviour, the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights said on Thursday.

The group polled 2,020 people -- including men and foreign women -- in Cairo, and the centre's director, Nihad Abul Qomsan, said that the figures showed harassment was on the rise.

Of those surveyed, 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women said they had been harassed at some point, while 46 percent of Egyptian women and 52 percent of foreign women said they were harassed daily.

Most women said they were harassed in the street or on public transport, with harassment defined as "any unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature which makes women feel uneasy and gives them a feeling of insecurity."

Abul Qomsan said that almost two-thirds of Egyptian men -- 62 percent -- admitted harassing women, including those wearing Islamic headscarves.

"This shows that the belief that harassment is linked to women who wear indecent clothing is false," she said, condemning the fact that in the deeply religious country women often feel responsible despite being victims.

The centre said that last year only 12 percent of women went to the police with a harassment complaint.

In 2006, women's rights activists angrily spoke out against what they called the authorities' acceptance of sexual harassment against women, after a mob of men openly molested women in central Cairo.

The interior ministry said it did not receive any formal complaints and has never admitted any mass harassment occurred despite the incident being widely reported in the press and some bloggers posting footage on the Internet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080717/lf_af...ietywomenrights

[Nasturtium 500]

This happen to me when my Husband and I went to Egypt to visit his family. They thought my husband didn't speak or understand Arabic and they would say things, he got into so many fights, he even slap a teenager; taking him by surprise. I was shocked that the men behaved like that!!!

In Jordan sometimes, if I was with my husband and my hair wasn't covered (my biggest giveaway is my hair), then we would get people (mostly younger girls in their 20s or so-- this is not a reflection on that age group per se, we just happened to be at the university a lot thus spending time in that demographic) who would occasionally talk about him and I because they somehow thought he was foreign because of me. He would just say something back to them in Arabic and often they still wouldn't get it that he was Jordanian. They weren't usually saying something bad or anything, just remarking on the "foreigners," trying to figure out where we were from or one time something about my hair-- if it was real or not and that it was shiny lol. I was pleasantly surprised to get only a couple of groping incedents there... both were older men-- one was in his 60s or more! There were a few younger guys who yelled the usual about loving you and wanting to be your friend and sometimes even going as far as asking about sex, but that was pretty rare... usually they at least tried to be me civilized and ask you about your name or something like that first, and when you don't answer and just pass on by... it makes it fairly apparent how you feel about that. If they needed clarification, a palm with a downward middle finger usually got the message through.

[Nita&Assaad 0]

Well I couldn't believe how Disrespectful the men could be, come on my husband and I were holding hands and we had our wedding rings on, how can this be....My poor Husband really had a hard time during the day when we went out, but at night it was quiet different.... I couldn't understand why he was upset all them time, but now I know!!

This happen to me when my Husband and I went to Egypt to visit his family. They thought my husband didn't speak or understand Arabic and they would say things, he got into so many fights, he even slap a teenager; taking him by surprise. I was shocked that the men behaved like that!!!

In Jordan sometimes, if I was with my husband and my hair wasn't covered (my biggest giveaway is my hair), then we would get people (mostly younger girls in their 20s or so-- this is not a reflection on that age group per se, we just happened to be at the university a lot thus spending time in that demographic) who would occasionally talk about him and I because they somehow thought he was foreign because of me. He would just say something back to them in Arabic and often they still wouldn't get it that he was Jordanian. They weren't usually saying something bad or anything, just remarking on the "foreigners," trying to figure out where we were from or one time something about my hair-- if it was real or not and that it was shiny lol. I was pleasantly surprised to get only a couple of groping incedents there... both were older men-- one was in his 60s or more! There were a few younger guys who yelled the usual about loving you and wanting to be your friend and sometimes even going as far as asking about sex, but that was pretty rare... usually they at least tried to be me civilized and ask you about your name or something like that first, and when you don't answer and just pass on by... it makes it fairly apparent how you feel about that. If they needed clarification, a palm with a downward middle finger usually got the message through.