CAIRO: Egyptian security forces used rubber bullets and tear gas to end a fight between the residents of two villages in Daqahleya governorate leaving 94 injured, the press reported last week.
The fight broke out three days ago, when three young men from Al-Dahiria village harassed a young woman from Kafr Al Taraa village, who works at a pharmacy.
They asked for addictive drugs without a prescription, but she refused. In turn, the three young men harassed her and then threatened her life by tying a rope around her neck, which left severe marks.
Hafez Abu Saeda, president of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), condemned the harassment, although he believed it was “an expected outcome.
He told Daily News Egypt that sexual harassment in Egypt has a legal and social facet.
It is “very difficult to legally prove a harassment case. Egyptian law stipulates that the harassed female, said Abu Saeda, must have eyewitnesses who would agree to testify.
“As for the social aspect, unfortunately Egyptian society always blames the woman for being harassed because of what they are wearing, Abu Saeda said.
Moreover, many families refuse to report sexual harassment cases in fear that it would “ruin the woman’s reputation.
Abu Saeda urged the government to change the laws concerning sexual harassment cases, as he believes the situation is getting out of control.
“Women are not only harassed at work or in mixed outings but also in the street, which leads to fatal fights, Abu Saeda added.
He applauded the system adopted by some Arab countries where women have the right to report sexual harassment. If one person is accused three times by three unrelated women, they receive a jail sentence.
