“Egypt's Women Face Growing Sexual Harassment”
The
article that I chose to analyze discusses extreme levels of sexual harassment
that the women of Egypt face on a daily basis. The above article discussed not
only sexual harassment that women in Egypt face but all females in Egypt, even
foreigners who go abroad there. I feel that this article connected with the
class and it discussed key elements that we covered in class. The one thing
that stood out to me the most was the reaction of the families and the
communities after females have been raped. Ms. Brown discusses the many reasons
that rapes go unreported everyday and one of these reasons was fear of
harassment or attitudes of peers, family, and friends and reason for not
reporting rapes might be the most important factor in Egypt. Women are blamed when
they are raped and rather than seeking justice for the victim the family fear
embarrassment. The reporter explains how women are told to keep quiet or else
they will bring about scandal and nothing but shame and humiliation will come
out of that. The way I see it this is no different than what Smith discusses in
the article “Sexual Violence and the American Indian Genocide’ and what the
Native Americans had to go through as they had nowhere to turn to as well and
had to remain quiet or else their own people would accuse them of being
divisive. Women who are being sexually abused everyday have no support system
to overcome this tragically devastating experience and many times obtaining
justice will only severe them from their own families and communities.
Another
thing that the article definitely eliminates is the myth that “if a woman is
raped, then she must have deserved it, especially if she agreed to go to the
man's room or wore sexy clothing (Brown- Lecture)”. This is far from the truth
and it is very evident in the large amounts of rape occurring in Egypt that
consist of females who wore the Muslim headscarves and robes, thus covering
their bodies completely. Also, the myth that women who are abused is nothing
serious and do not usually undergo severe injury or trauma as Roberts discusses
is not true as well. Rape victims are often brutalized and severely injured as
it is apparent from the assault that CBS news correspondent Lara Logan had to
face while in Egypt, an assault that out her in the hospital for days and left
her body in welts and bruises. Many people do not realize the impact and
seriousness of sexual violence as they try to hush it up and act as if it is
not happening around them.
An
interesting fact in this article that seemed to differ from what we have
learned is that most victims seem to know their attacker. In Egypt, this is far
from the truth; many of the sexual harassment and rape in Egypt is usually done
by strangers as opposed to someone the victim might know. However, one truth in this that ties to our
previous knowledge is that the majority of these “stranger rapes” are committed
by members of the victim’s ethnicity, most of them Egyptians. The reporter,
Drogin, discusses why sexual violence is so high in Egypt, to the extent that
females cannot even attempt to go out alone without fear of being sexually
harassed or raped, and states, “Unable
to find decent jobs or affordable apartments, many men don't marry until their
mid-30s. Premarital sex is taboo, so sexual frustration is said to run
abnormally high.” Of course, this does not excuse the actions but we can
clearly see that just like many countries, women are more likely to be blamed
for rape and rather than receiving support and justice if they make their case
public they run the risk of being shunned by their own people, leaving them
little choice but to keep quiet and endure the pain alone.
Sources Used:
Adrian Brown, GWS 2000-Violence
Against Women Lecture
Roberts, “Introduction: Myths and Realities
Regarding Battered Women”
Smith, “Sexual
Violence and American Indian Genocide”
Saud, thank you for sharing about this article. It is hard to read, but the more exposure it gets hopefully the better for the women of Egypt. I think rape is a crime of violence and currently there is a lot of violence and much instability in the country of Egypt. It is hard to comprehend how men who are protesting and fighting for their own freedom will still oppress the women of their society. But it seems to be true of all cultures that sadly the women have to endure a long, uphill struggle for equality, and in many cases for basic safety and respect.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was very well put together. As a Middle Eastern student, articles like this really hit home. Seeing violence against woman in the Middle East really bothers me. Many countries, such as Egypt, still treat woman unequally and it is very upsetting. There are many parts of society and cultures around the world that must begin to treat woman more equally but it is indeed an uphill battle that we must continue to fight for.
DeleteSaud, As I read your article, the first thought that came into my head was that there is probably so many rapes in Egypt because the rapist knows that they will not get reported, caught, or punished. The way the women are blamed and told to keep quiet is terrible. Like you mentioned in your article, it is similar to the way the Native Americans have kept quiet about the sexual violence that happens to them as well. It is my thought that if everyone who has been a target of sexual violence keeps quiet, they will never have anyone to relate to. They will never have anyone tell them "it is not your fault." If one person can begin to reach out and tell their story, I believe other would follow. Whether a woman is Egyptian or Native American, sexual violence is not acceptable. Thank you for posting this article and making us all aware.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to mention that rapes and sexual violence in Egypt are not only hurting the women, but it seems that the rapes would be hurting the economy as well. As you mentioned, women are so afraid of getting raped that they cannot find decent jobs or affordable apartments. It seems Egypt is losing some good workers to this violence.
ReplyDelete