"Sexual harassment in Egypt was a problem well before the revolution brought down Mubarak's regime two years ago. What the revolution did for Egyptian women is that it made ti easier for them to speak out and report these incidents."
- Maria Caspani, Thomson Reuters Foundation Correspondent
Every week, Thomson Reuters Foundation correspondents offer distilled insight on pressing issues.
Two-Minute Talking Points bring you concise commentary from the front lines of humanitarian crises, climate change, corruption and human rights.
Sexual harassment in Egypt was a problem well before the revolution brought down Mubarak’s regime two years ago.
What the revolution did for Egyptian women is that it made easier for them to speak against these attacks.
Local media report stories of harassment almost on daily basis, and a number of initiatives have been born to help women to protect themselves.
After the second anniversary of the revolution on Jan 25, more than 20 women were sexually assaulted in Cairo and some were seriously hurt.
A volunteer from an organisation that rescues women when the attacks happen and takes them to safe houses or to hospitals to receive medical treatment, described the tactic used by harassers, dubbed the circle of hell.
Basically this is how it works: a big group of men in demonstration, maybe 200 of them form a three-line human circle around a woman. The men in the inner circle start stripping the woman, they touching her, some put their finger inside her vagina.
The men on the third circle, the outside circle work to distract the attention from what is happening inside the circle.
The women are totally powerless, crushed by the number of assailants and their aggressiveness. A woman was raped with a knife.
Protests both in Cairo and abroad have raised their voices against sexual harassment. However, no arrests have been made so far after these incidents.
Filming & Editing: Shanshan Chen
Design: Ye Li
