This project is a contribution to the extension #metoo movement that is happening right now in Egypt. As an Egyptian who was born and raised there, I have had my fair share of sexual harassment in various ways which is enough reason to say something too! I believe it will never change until all of us direct our attention to the issue and fight for our dignity. It is incredibly unsafe to just exist as a woman in Egypt, according to UN study 99% of Egyptian women have been sexually assaulted.
It happens within the family more than from strangers, it happens in public transportations, and in the streets in daylight. When I used to live there, I knew how verbal sexual assaults were something that we just have to live with, in public transportations, by taxi drivers, in malls, and yes even on the university campus. What was shocking was the reaction of some family members/friends when you tell such stories, which is usually blaming women for what they wear, or where they walked, and shaming them to keep these stories to themselves because of “what would people think?”.
We all know clothing does not stop those sociopaths from doing what they feel they have the right to do. All women in Egypt are subjects to these disgusting acts wherever they are and whatever they wear. Women in Abayas (the traditional Muslim dress for women) still get sexually harassed. A child in her pajamas still gets molested. They always find a reason to blame women for what happens to them.
Women are shamed if they seek divorce, they are encouraged to bear their unbearable husbands because of the pressure of society or simply because they have kids, and they better have an abusive father/husband than not having one. But who we blame when sexual assault/rape/molestation happens within a family? From a father or a cousin, which happens a lot! Who do we blame when the family knows what happened and they don’t hold anybody accountable for it, for fearing shame? It’s easier to act as if nothing happens, preach to forgive, and it goes without saying; screw this victim and her mental health for the rest of her life. Who do we blame when men expose themselves in the streets or next to you in a public transportation seat in bright daylight when you’re minding your own business? Who do we blame when they cover for the sons of powerful families when they gang rape girls and film them (look up the Fairmount hotel case in Cairo), and jail the girls who came out as witnesses? Who do we blame for an ex-boyfriend who blackmails and abuses his ex-girlfriend? I AM SURE AS HELL WOMEN ARE NOT TO BLAME!
