Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the Daily News Egypt article by Reem Abu Zahra titled “MP Chides Tourism Ministry Over Sexual Harassment (July 14, 2008).
The article quotes MP Mohsen Radi as stating that in order to prevent sexual harassment, “Women should dress modestly because there is a big sector of youth who passed the marriage age, and therefore, some harassment is possible.
The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) rejects the idea that either women’s dress or men’s marital status have caused the increasing problem of sexual harassment in Egypt .
We recently completed an in-depth study of sexual harassment, surveying over 2,100 Egyptian and foreign women, as well as Egyptian men. Of the women surveyed, 84.5 percent had experienced some form of sexual harassment, most reporting that they are harassed on a daily basis. We found no correlation between harassment and dress: of 1,119 Egyptian and foreign women surveyed, the vast majority, 72.5 percent, wear the hijab.
Some were even harassed while wearing the niqab. Additionally, almost half of the male participants interviewed were married, but still do it. The majority of men surveyed, 62.4 percent, admitted to committing various forms of sexual harassment from verbal harassment to touching, stalking and indecent exposure.
Sexual harassment affects both foreign and Egyptian women by making them feel unsafe in the street. This has many consequences, which we outline in our study. In addition, it has led to harming Egypt’s reputation through reports listed in almost every guide book for tourists warning women of this danger, and causing many women to leave Egypt and never return.
Women, whether foreign nor Egyptian, do not deserve to be blamed for men s sexual harassment. Nor can the fact that a man has been unable to get married serve to excuse this crime.
Our study illustrates that sexual harassment is a growing and very real problem in Egypt. ECWR encourages the Ministry of Tourism to work on ending sexual harassment, so that all women may feel safe on Egypt’s streets.
Nehad Abu El-KomsanChair of The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
