Throughout the Arab world, women are fighting back against sexual harassment and one Bahraini woman in Dubai just hit back in an epic way.
While a female Bahraini lawyer was walking through a Dubai shopping mall with her friend, an Algerian man decided he had the right to request sex from her. He touched her inappropriately twice and solicited sex.
But this woman was not to be messed with.
After cursing him, she removed her shoe, proceeding to beat him. She also filmed the man for evidence to share with the Dubai police.
The man has since been sentenced to six months in prison, after which he will be deported, Gulf News reported.
Despite the video and the woman's testimony, the harasser chose to plead "not guilty" when he went to court.
"I did not molest her. She cursed my mother and I slapped and pushed her," he said.
Hmm. She cursed at him after he harassed her and asked for sex? Shocking!
Here are the rest of the details as shared by the woman:
"He called out to me saying ‘please ... please stop’. I ignored him and continued walking. Then he called me again and I stopped. He told me that he wanted to get to know me and have sex with me … I took off my slipper and hit him. He then cursed me and also cursed Arabs. I yelled at him to draw other shoppers’ attention … but no one intervened. I put my slipper back on and walked away … he took me by surprise and touched me twice. Thereafter I filmed him with my mobile and then he ran away," she said.
While it's shocking and disappointing that nobody intervened on the woman's behalf, it's good to see a strong woman standing up to a misogynistic man that only sees women as sexual objects.
The perpetrator still has the right to appeal the ruling, but let's hope the Dubai courts stick to their guns and show men that harassing women is never OK.
Sexual harassment is a major issue facing women in the Arab world. A UN report from 2013 revealed that more than 99 percent of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment.
Throughout Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, and other Arab countries, activists have launched campaigns to raise awareness about the pervasive problem. Arab women have also been very vocal in calling out harassers and addressing the blatant misogyny.
