Have your say: sexual harassment in Egypt, to solve or to punish?

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Permalink Reply by Menassat on October 27, 2008 at 4:21pm

Let's not get carried away
On October 23rd, 2008 Farah said on Menassat:
3 years with hard labour and a fine is a bit harsh for the poor van driver don't you think?!!!! any research into who is going to support his family now if he has one?

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Permalink Reply by Menassat on October 27, 2008 at 4:22pm

It is assault not harrassment
On October 26th, 2008 leila said on Menassat:
I am glad about this verdict, He did not harrass her but assaulted the girl. I am moved by her courage

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Permalink Reply by Menassat on October 27, 2008 at 4:23pm

Maybe HE should've thought
On October 25th, 2008 Khaled said on Menassat:
Maybe HE should've thought about his family before doing something like this (after all, we are not talking about an honest mistake). The women who get harrassed also have families and people who love them. Personally, I think the main problem in Egypt is that people count too much on this mentality of "Ma3lesh" and being forgiven because he's "Ghalban sa7eb 3eyal". P.S. Even my 73 year old mother has her fair share of harrassment on the streets of Cairo, and I don't like it one bit just as I think no one should....

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Permalink Reply by Menassat on October 28, 2008 at 5:49pm

sexual harassment in Egypt
On October 28th, 2008 jocelyne mohsen said on Menassat:
Sexual harassment in Egypt has been more than common on the streets of Cairo, in theatres, in offices and so on. It is about time to have these men respect women wherever they are. It is regrettably to say that the only way for them to stop doing so is only if they are punished publicly. Thinking it is only an amusing act to them they do not want to realise how degrading it can be for a woman. They might finally be forced to respect themselves and the women they come across with. It will make them think twice before bringing disgrace to their own family too.

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Permalink Reply by Mohamad Ghalayini on October 30, 2008 at 2:23pm

well, In my openion it's not an excessive punishment! If those people don't get punished seriously they might just go for more. And I think the solution for this social problem in Egypt is to oblige women to carry protecion in their bags and to have serious sentences to prison and hard labor just like the case of the man who assaulted the filmmaker.
And like the say "Al wikaya khayru 3ilaj"

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Permalink Reply by Delarue on April 14, 2009 at 11:28am

I think that the sentence is both justified and too long, especially for his family, they are not responsible for his crime. I am in favor of a shorter sentence in exchange for some kind of public humiliation, apologizing on TV, for instance, or cleaning the streets in his neighborhood, carrying a sign 'I have assaulted a woman and I deserve to be punished", or any other shaming punishment. Perpetrators of his kind love to humiliate women, but they hate to be humiliated, this would make them think twice!
uniondesvictimesdeletat.com

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Permalink Reply by Sara Hamed on May 27, 2009 at 8:32am

it is true that the man's family will have to suffer during his absence, but that is inevitable despite their innocence. he must be punished, making an example of him is important.
but there is a significant consideration to take into account here. egyptians know that 95% of the time, the law is not properly enforced. For example, if you are rich and an important social persona, you can literally get away with murder. Also, it is hard to keep tabs on this kind of crime, expecially if a woman is too scared to report it. these offenders oftentimes know they can get away with anything even if it has a punishment because chances are they wont get caught. what i mean is more has to be done. egypt needs a whole attitude revolution..a shift in mentality to fix this kind of problem.
in the meantime, i say: Get your ass busy for three years serving your country if you want to harass a woman. You deserve it.

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Permalink Reply by Delarue on July 4, 2009 at 3:03pm

O course, you're right about the importance of "making an example" of each sex offender. But again, with the new 45-year jail sentence for this sexual predator who had assaulted nine women (no rapes) I think that shorter prison/hard labor sentences, under very hard conditions + public humilaition are more proportionate to the crime. Many people seem to believe that severe sentences of that kind might actually lead to the sex offender killing his victim, so that it becomes more difficult to identify him.
In our websites www.sos-bizutage.com ("bizutage" means hazing in French, the site has a section in English) and www.uniondesvictimesdeletat.com, we advocate taking bullying and sexual harassment seriously very early, in school. Light punishment for first offenders who beat weaker pupils or harass girls must be imposed, but the guilty boy (or more and more often girl, in Europe, America or Asia) should also have to apologize publicly to the victim. More severe punishments for repeaters, of course. For instance, since Egypt has conscription at least for part of the male population, threatening the boys to send them to disciplinary military units would be a powerful deterrent. It has been suggested here by a leading Socialist politician, Madame Ségolène Royal, who ran unsuccessfully for president against Sarkozy.
And I suppose that the Egyptian Armed Forces are not short of female drill instructors, who might take care of the offenders, it would help the boys forget their macho instincts. Am I wrong?

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