Alexandrians Employ Campaign to Counter Sexual Harassment

Tens of activists in Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria marked the first day of Eid al-Adha with a campaign dubbed ‘Harass the Harasser’ in an attempt to bar the sexual harassment of women.

The campaigners were active within the busiest districts of the Mediterranean city, where chances of sexual harassment are high, such as San Stefano, the vicinity of the Biblotheque, Mahat El-Raml, in addition to several public parks.

“The aim of the campaign is to stand against sexual harassment, which is prevalent in holidays,” Mansour Hamdy, one of the campaigners told Al-Ahram’s Arabic news website, pointing out that the campaign was active in Cairo last year.

According to Hamdy, the campaign is dependent on volunteers.

Hamdy went on to add that their aim isn’t just to stop harassment from taking place, but also to expose it and put pressure on state-institutions, particularly the ministry of interior, to uphold its duty to protect citizens.

Sexual harassment has been a growing problem in Egypt. More than 99 percent of hundreds of women surveyed in seven of the country’s 27 governorates reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment, ranging from minor harassment to rape, according to an April report by the UN, Egypt’s Demographic Centre and the National Planning Institute.

Source: Ahram Online