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Egypt: #Jan25 Survivors Speak Out

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Trigger Warning

On January 25, the two-year anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution, thousands of Egyptian gathered at  Tahrir Square in Cairo. Since such mass protests can be hotbeds for men to sexually harass and assault women, the collective group Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault sent members (identified by bright vests) out to patrol to prevent incidents and to help people being attacked.

It was a good thing they were there. Not including run-of-the-mill harassment, there were at least 19 cases of mob sexual violence and at least six women needed medical attention afterward. The Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault group was able to assist many of the women.

During the 10 days since the protest, they have been collecting stories from survivors and volunteers. This story from a survivor brought me to tears, here is an excerpt:

“…My pants were being pulled down again. Shortly after I saw a man, wearing one of the Operation Anti Sexual Harassment t-shirts and I started shouting louder. Luckily he saw me and made his way towards me. He grabbed me and held me and told me he would help me. He pulled me toward where I had spotted the two women and further. I fell again, the guy helped me up and I stepped into buckets of water and fell again. I got up and was surrounded by women and men of the Anti Harassment group. They asked me to sit down and wait with them….

All of this happened two days (25th of January, 2013) ago. Yesterday I was examined by a gynecologist. Luckily, I do not have any internal injuries. Just bruises and today the muscles in my entire body are hurting. When trying to recall what happened on Friday, I noticed that there must have been things happening, people saying things, etc. that I do not remember. I have barely any audio-memory, just the feeling of hands everywhere. I also don t recall any face around me.

The story of another survivor, who was a female volunteer, angers me so much:

“…My friend and I were squashed between the people and the foul cart (she was carrying the bag on her back and I was holding tightly on to the straps of the bag). She held onto me by my shoulders tightly and said calmly and reassuringly (unfortunately, this experience had happened to her before and her understanding of the situation was far calmer and better than mine) “We are being attacked right now and the most important thing is that we stay together, no matter what happens.” Nothing else mattered to her other than reassuring me, and she kept saying “We’re going to get out of this, we’re going to get out of this, don’t be scared, we’re together.” She kept repeating “We’re together, don’t separate us,” again and again. I held onto her tightly and felt all the hands groping every part of my body. After that I didn’t feel anything other than that they were pushing me. In the midst of the terrible numbers and the horrible shoving, we moved away from the foul cart (that had been protecting our backs). Suddenly we were in the middle of the street, and the five pairs of hands became many more. They were grabbing me everywhere on my body and trying to put their fingers in my behind over my pants and in the fly of my pants with the utmost violence and savagery….”

They had to use hairspray and hide in a store to get away. She says, “The attempt to terrorize us will not succeed, our anger and determination have doubled. I am truly sorry for all the girls who have experienced anything like this, I promise we will not be silent.”

Another brave volunteer shared his story on this blog a few days ago.

If you can stomach it, this video captures a mob attacking a woman. Near the end you see the Operation volunteers beating off the men. Sickening.

Everyone should have the right to protest and participate in political action without fearing for their safety, for their life. The actions of the mobs of men is inexcusable and abhorrent. I applaud the Operation team for persevering, for going into known danger and for helping so many women.

They are organizing an event this Sunday to train and prepare for future protests and events so they can do even more to protect women and stop sexual violence in the streets of Cairo. I hope even more people join them. They need all the help they can get, the problem is so vast. Tahrir Bodyguards are  organizing several self-defense classes. Contact them for information.

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Egypt: Personal Account from Jan. 25 Protest

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Editor’s Note: HarassMap, an anti-harassment group in Egypt, posted the following on their Facebook account over the weekend. They, and the author, gave me permission to share it here. Please share it widely and follow their work: Website | Facebook | Twitter.  Also, here is a Guardian article about the attacks on women on Jan. 25.

THIS IS A HARASSMAP STAFF MEMBER’S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF MOB SEXUAL ATTACKS IN #TAHRIR ON #JAN25 DURING OUR EFFORTS TO COUNTER THEM AS PART OF Op Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault قوة ضد التحرش/الإعتداء الجنسي الجماعي

By Hussein ElShafie

When I joined the second round of OpAntiSH, as a core team member and a Midan team participant, I wasn’t anticipating the nightmare we all went through! I expected our mere presence in the heart of the protests to be an important warning sign for the mobs not to approach the protesters. I walked through the square distributing flyers and I was met with cooperation and gratitude from the side of the people. However, in certain instances I would get completely encircled by groups who would grab my shirt, poke me and snatch flyers from my hands. I didn’t give their attitude much attention and I attributed it to the Adrenalin rush they must be experiencing.

While I walked I saw two girls from our Safety team running towards me asking for help dealing with a report from the Omar Makram side. We all three ran across the square bumping into everyone until we arrived to Omar Makram and we found nothing going on! Later we were informed that while we mobilized our efforts to that area a girl was being mob-attacked by the Mohamed Mahmoud side.

I went back to our headquarters in Talaat Harb and shortly afterwards our rescue team arrived to the building. The girl was among them semi-comatose. A huge crowd appeared to accompany them to the door and then they tried to break in. We half-closed the door and pulled in our volunteers. They were all being squeezed, grabbed and unable to breathe. While I was pulling in one of them I felt as if I was pulling out a tissue from a tight tissue box. We got them all inside, shut the door and locked it. Harassers tried to break the door and they started a small fire. The numbers were insane. The armed mob was infuriated by the sight of the girls indoor and by the fact that they (harassers) could not reach them. I asked one of them from behind the door what is it that they wanted and he answered “What are all those women doing inside?!”. We turned off the lights and sent the girls upstairs trying to minimize our visibility. The nightmare kept going on for 2 hours until their energy faded and we managed to gather some help from outside to disperse the mob. Police was non-existent.

When it was a little safer to get out I went with another volunteer from the Intervention team to survey the square, and by the time we could make out the Mohamed Mahmoud area a tear gas canister was thrown at us. We ran back to the building suffocating, falling off every few seconds and unable to open our eyes. That very canister could have saved us a lot of terror and harassment if it had been thrown at the mobs that had attacked us perseveringly for two hours earlier.

We were specifically targeted by the mobs while the police kept a deaf ear to our situation. However, our brave men and women managed to survive it. We were getting fake reports to waste our efforts and yet we managed to interfere in more than a dozen mob harassment cases. Seeing the relentless efforts of our volunteers was but an affirmation of the nobility of our cause, and an inspiration for every human being who wants to voice out their right to be free, safe and respected.

بلغوا عن حوادث التحرش الجنسي | Report sexual harassment: SMS 6069 | http://harassmap.org/reports/submit

تطوعوا | Volunteer: bit.ly/ZsFKcL

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Egypt: Harassment during #Jan25 Anniversary Protests

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Yesterday was the anniversary of the Jan. 25 revolution in Cairo, Egypt, and with many protests planned that day at Tahrir Square, anti-harassment groups prepared for an increase in incidents of sexual harassment and assault. Unfortunately, their preparation was necessary. Via Twitter & Facebook:

@OpAntiSH: Initial count of mob sexual assaults we know of are around 19 cases, at least 6 needed medical attention #EndSh #OpAntiSH #Jan25 #Tahrir

@HarassMap: “There were approx 19 cases of sexual assault/rape cases (that we know of), 6 requiring medical attention according to the first count. We managed to help 2/3 or more of these cases but the situation is critical.”

@Beltrew: #endSH team doing amazing job trying to help women who are being attacked.It’s happening everywhere. I swear this must be organised #tahrir

@HarassMap: “another eye witness report of mob sexual assault in #Tahrir yesterday where some ppl used flamethrowers, knives & clubs to try to push the attackers away. #OpAntiSH #endSH #HarassMap”

Via Global Post:

“Several cases of sexual assault have been reported from Tahrir Square, as growing protests and confusion offer a cover for the harassment. According to sources on the ground, women are being groped, verbally assaulted, and harassed in the crowds.  As the crowds continue to gather in Tahrir at nightfall, women’s safety is a growing concern. Several volunteer forces, including one using the Twitter handle @TahrirBodyguard, is offering protection to women who are in Tahrir. Others are patrolling and intervening in incidents they see.”

Via Women’s eNews:

“”The main objective is to get the girl out. It is crisis management,” says Eba’a El-Tamami, marketing and communications unit head for HarassMap.

Based in the capital, HarassMap collects data about harassment, conducts community awareness and outreach programs and is part of a campaign called Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment-Assault, which draws strength from a coalition of groups. The organization’s goal, says El-Tamami, “is to counter what we suspect are organized, mob sexual assaults.”

Verbal sexual harassment is a common nuisance on Egyptian streets. However, HarassMap and other groups claim these mob attacks constitute something far more sinister. “We think it’s organized and planned,” says El-Tamami. “We think it’s probably paid thugs, but we don’t know who is paying them. There are quite a few eye-witness reports . . . People who have had this happen say it’s very difficult to imagine this is random or sporadic . . . . I don’t want to speculate but there are definitely people who have interest in positioning the square as dangerous and make protesters look like harassers or thugs.”

Not only has the Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment-Assault coalition undertaken work on the ground to try to keep women safe, but they also offer additional services. On their Facebook page, they wrote today:

“We don´t only intervene in mob sexual attacks, we help provide support (legal/medical/emotional) through our network of lawyers and doctors. If you need support, or know of someone who does, and/or for questions/inquiries what to do, please call us on our hotlines 01202390087 01016051145 01157892357 or online (Twitter @OpAntiSH, Facebook, Email opantish(at)gmail.com). Please share this”

I applaud these brave individuals for doing what no other group or government agency would do: ensure women’s safety as they exercise their political right to protest and shape their country’s agenda and empower women to fight back!

“@OpAntiSH: Most inspiring moments of yesterday, is when attacked women right after assault asked to join #OpAntiSH! This is RESISTANCE! #Jan25 #Tahrir“

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Imagine Egypt Without Sexual Harassment Campaign

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Via the Facebook Event Page from Op Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault:

TWO DAYS OF BLOGGING & TWEETING FOR HUMAN DIGNITY, JAN 23 & 24

“In light of the 2nd anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, let us remember those first 18 days in Tahrir. Do you remember that feeling of safety, dignity and mutual respect?

Compare this to today, where sexual harassment and sexual violence exist everywhere in Egypt..

– 2005 sexual harassment of female journalists
– 2006 mob sexual harassment downtown during Eid, and has been a “tradition” ever since
– 2011 “Aggressions referred to as “virginity tests
– 2012 Eman, the sexual harassment martyr
– Mob sexual assault/rape incidents in Tahrir

These are a small handful of examples to what happens to women in Egypt, on a daily basis.

And just last week, as we’re approaching the second anniversary to the Egyptian revolution, a women was raped at the Diabetes Institute while under anesthesia, and there were several other similar cases in the same institute.

Blog, tweet and post on Facebook for 48 hours and before we hit Tahrir Square on Jan 25 to face and fight organized mob sexual assault and harassment. The hashtag will be announced at the beginning of day one, stay posted.
تخيل/ي مصر من غير تحرش

بعد سنتين من ثورة ٢٥ يناير خلينا نفتكر ال ١٨ يوم في الميدان

فاكرين الإحساس بالأمان والكرامة

قارن/ي ده بالنهاردة والتحرش والعنف اللي لسه موجودين في كل مكان

– ٢٠٠٥ الأربعاء الأسود التحرش بالصحفيات
– ٢٠٠٦ التحرش الجماعي في وسط البلد في العيد اللي بقى بيحصل كل عيد من ساعتها
– ٢٠١١ الاعتداء المعروف بـ “كشوف العذرية”
– ٢٠١٢ إيمان شهيدة التحرش
– التحرشات والإغتصابات الجماعية في الميدان واللي حصلوا اكتر من مرة

ده غير التحرش الفردي واليومي اللي بتواجه النساء في مصر كل يوم وكل لحظة وفكل مكان

ومش بس كده، ده قبل أسبوع من الذكرى التانية للثورة نساء يتم إغتصابهن في معهد السكر وهم تحت تأثير التخدير

مش هنسكت

زقزق/ي ودون/ي واحكي على الفيسبوك لمدة ٤٨ ساعة، يومين من الصوت العالي ضد التحرش، وقبل ما ننزل الشارع كلنا يوم ٢٥ في الميدان نواجه اعتداءات التحرش
المنظمة! شاركونا!

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More sexual assaults at Tahrir Square in Egypt

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Trigger Warning – descriptions of sexual assaults

When I hopped on twitter this morning and checked the thread #EndSH, I was appalled to read that more sexual assaults took place last night against women at Tahrir Square in Egypt as they marked the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 25 revolution of 2011.

When will the assaults on women protesting and covering stories at Tahrir end?!

I clicked on a link to read about what happened. Here is part of an article I read on Bikya Masr. I am outraged:

“CAIRO: Heather still doesn’t know how she made it home on Wednesday night after being in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. The Arab-American arrived back at her Cairo flat without pants, having had them torn off downtown. She and her two roommates were victims of a mob attack by people in the iconic square on Wednesday, as protesters demonstrated against the military junta.

According to Heather, an Arab-American living in the Egyptian capital, she and her Swedish and Spanish roommates took to Tahrir as thousands were converging there to mark one-year since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak.

“They started fighting over who was going to do what,” Heather told Bikyamasr.com in an exclusive interview. She came forward after seeing the report on a foreign woman who was stripped naked and assaulted only hours after her own incident.

“My roommates and I fell to the ground when they attacked us. The people pulled our pants off even as we yelled and tried to fight,” she continued.

The incident occurred around 7:30 PM local time, just as night was taking hold of the city. Heather said the attack happened “in the center of Tahrir.”

She said that after the men pulled their pants off, they continued to grab and grobe the women’s bodies. “It is disgusting. They put fingers up my ass,” she revealed.

Luckily, the women were somehow pulled from the violence by a man and a woman and taken to safety. She said she doesn’t recall exactly how she was saved from the violent attack.

“I was shaking and crying and the man and woman just grabbed us and pulled us out and took us out of the square.”

Later in the night, the issue of sexual violence toward women was sparked after an eyewitness reported on the micro-blogging site Twitter that a foreign woman was stripped, groped and assaulted by another mob of men in the square.

The woman, who’s identity has not been revealed, was taken away in an ambulance after being assaulted for 10 minutes. Her husband reportedly was unable to intervene and witnessed the incident.

“I saw the woman and then dozens of men surrounded her and started grabbing her, when she screamed for help some people came, but they were hit in the face,” wrote one witness.

What happened next was “appalling,” said the trusted witness, who asked for anonymity. “The men just started tearing at her clothes and grabbing her body all over. When she fought back, they pushed her. It was chaos.”

There were unconfirmed reports that the men “violated” her with their hands.

The nationality of the woman is unknown at the current time.

Throughout the day, sexual harassment towards women has been increasing and more and more reports of women being grabbed and groped began being reported.

Activists called the attacks on women completely “unacceptable” and must be exposed no matter what. They demanded an end to all violence toward women.

“What happened in Tahrir today has no justification and must be fully exposed even if it taints Tahrir!” wrote EgyptSecularist on Twitter.

Heather said that she came forward to talk about what happened to her “because people need to know what goes on. It is the only way to start making it a problem that will have to be dealt with.”

However, many people told her to not reveal what happened to her because she was told, “it would hurt the image of the revolution.” But Heather said after seeing the reports of others and their assaults, “I felt it was right to say something.”

The incident brings memories of reporter Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted the night former President Hosni Mubarak gave up power.

A mob of men ripped the 40-year-old correspondent away from her crew and bodyguard, tearing at her clothes and beating her in broad daylight….

Instances of sexual assaults on female journalists covering the events in Tahrir Square have continued in the year since Mubarak’s ouster.

According to studies conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Right (ECWR) in 2008, 98 percent of foreign women and 83 percent of Egyptian women surveyed had experienced sexual harassment in Egypt.

Meanwhile, 62 percent of Egyptian men confessed to harassing women and 53 percent of Egyptian men faulted women for “bringing it on.”

What can we do? Help support HarassMap, one of the groups in Egypt working to combat the culture of harassment and assault on women in public places.

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