Sexual violence is a problem that is rarely dealt with in Egyptian society and, when it is, blame is usually assigned to the victim. The violence often goes unreported for that reason, and because of the stigma that these attacks confer on women, who are then seen as shaming their families. This may not be new, but the steps that women are taking to prevent these attacks are.
Women of all ages in Cairo are attending karate lessons in an effort to learn techniques that will hopefully help them fend off their attackers. For these women, sexual assault is not a subject to be kept in the shadows and ignored; they recognize the dangers and speak openly about it, refusing to be shamed and stigmatized. “I was on my way home from school and I was attacked – I didn’t know what to do,” 14-year-old Shaza Saeed said. “But now I have learnt how to defend myself so I am not afraid any more. I think every girl should go to self-defense classes like this.”
In a recent study, 83% of Egyptian women say that they have experienced “harassment.” I do question if harassment is a euphemism in this case, as the women interviewed in the BBC article describe their harassment in terms that sound like sexual assault and attempted sexual assault. And in either case, a staggering two thirds of the men surveyed freely admitted that they had abused a woman. The Egyptian government has finally admitted that this is an issue that needs to be dealt with, and there is a bill in parliament that would define sexual harassment as a crime. Hopefully that will help to move it out of the shadows, lessen the stigma, and give women the confidence to come forward.
“Harrassment” is definitely a euphemism. What they’re talking about usually involves men grabbing their breasts, trying to pull up their skirts, etc. I have studied karate for many years, and I think it would be excellent training both because these women can learn how to kick and punch but also because it teaches them to be confident and aggressive.
That said, a teenage girl is unlikely to be able to fight of a full-grown man, or more than one person, unless she is extremely experienced in martial arts. If I went to Egypt, I’d want to carry around a big ol container of mace.
Karate or whatever else isn’t a bad idea, but it’s not really the solution. I love this post of Melissa McEwan’s at Shakesville.
Yeah, I guess the point is that even if a woman/girl is not able to fend off her attacker, she is taking steps to recognize that this is unacceptable and fight back. It’s taking it out of the “invisibility” stage.
The law is interesting and I support its passage, but having lived in Egypt I think there are other issues that need addressing more urgently. There are extremely few womens shelters in major metropolitan centers in the country and all of the publicly funded ones (really only a handful of beds nation wide) work closely with police so that victims cannot be assured safety. Frequently police and staff will attempt to “patch up” family disputes instead of protecting victims. In the case of rape, in my experience many women reporting rapes to the police ended up threatened with charges of filing a false police report, fraud or the like. Crimes against women are just not taken seriously. In fact police corruption goes much further than just negligence of sexual and gender based violence and it seems to me that no laws will begin to remedy the daily violence women live with in Egypt until there is deep police reform. And that’s not really on Mubarak’s agenda. Speaking of Mubarak, most public spending on “womens issues” gets funneled through his wife Suzanne’s personal non profit. http://www.womenforpeaceinternational.org/EN/index.aspx. And, while I’m at it, Egypt is the second leading recipient of US foreign aid! So it does seem the US could have an impact on these issues if we took them seriously.
Sorry, forgot to make my point. My point being, I definitely see the limits of physical self defense. But in the absence of legal defense, it may be all most Egyptian women have.
@JD: Yeah, the legal system is run by men and not doing women ANY favors. Most of the women taking these classes are young, and the hope seems to be that they are being vigilant about the need to protect themselves and make noise (literally and figuratively) about how this “harassment” is unacceptable. In lieu of protective laws, this is what these women can do for themselves.
I grew fond of spitting at harassers in Cairo. I’m awesome at cultural diplomacy you guys.
I heard this documentary on the World Service. Apparently when asked, a lot of guys said if they saw a woman being harassed who was ‘modestly’* dressed, they would intervene to help her. If she was ‘provocatively’* dressed, they would JOIN IN.
*Not a direct quotation.
@Plum-Pie: In this particular study, 70% of the women who were being harassed said they were wearing headscarves. For a lot of men, it’s not even about modesty.