Women in Egypt, regardless of their nationality, experience verbal and non-verbal form of sexual harassment. A traumatizing experience which often leaves them feeling scared, disgusted, angry and ultimately, helpless. More often than admitted, women in the country would much rather stay home than go out to only face and experience constant harassment and assault.
The problem has become so bad that public areas are now dominated by men.
According to a UN study conducted in 2013, 99 percent of women in Egypt have endured sexual harassment on our streets, in our workplaces and in our schools and though Egyptian authorities altered the penal code to combat sexual harassment, the law remains vague and unclear and thus, the issue still persists.
The law does not state what exactly construes as sexual harassment and law makers are refusing to explicitly point out verbal or non-verbal sexual assault by simply stating that "it's a violation of dignity" instead of labeling it for what it really is: Sexual assault. This vague description leaves thousands of women, who were verbally assaulted, with no legal ground to stand on.
Another issue with the amendments made is the mechanism for reporting of the crime. A woman who was assaulted cannot report a crime without dragging the predator to a police station due to the fact that police officers are unwilling to come to the scene of the crime.
Another problem with the penal code combating sexual harassment is that women cannot report the crime without two witnesses. However, many people who witness such assaults refuse to stand along side the victim and instead, they either shame the woman and call for the predators release in fear of "ruining" the man's future or they just "do not have the time to waste" on minor issues.
This notion, this concept and perception within the Egyptian public is the root of the problem. The root which leaves many women and children, who are victims of sexual assault and harassment, feeling helpless, hopeless, and small.
In an attempt to combat this societal issue and alternate the public perception of sexual harassment and assault, SideWalk Stories was launched. A project that aims to eradicate such assaults while addressing gender dynamics and societal stigmas within the country.
The project was launched by two German women, Maria Neubert and Anna-Theresa Bachmann, after witnessing the disturbing acts of sexual harassment and their disastrous side effects on women and the general public in Egypt.
SideWalk Stories first launched in May 2015 with workshops to discuss the role of Egyptian women within society, the society's expectations of women and how to combat sexual harassment and adversities. The workshops, which combined foreign and Egyptian women, proved to be a success due to the diversity of perception of women from different countries, communities, backgrounds, societal and religious backgrounds.
The combination of these perceptions and solutions empowered women to talk about all forms of sexual assault they had to endure. It also empowered women to physically and mentally combat sexual harassment without feeling belittled and therefore, the common feelings of helplessness and powerlessness slowly, but steadily, started to disappear.
SideWalk Stories recently launched a powerful initiative: a portrait exhibition of women alongside their experiences with sexual harassment and how they chose to fight back. Some women simply stated that they avoid eye contact while others put their headphones on in order to ignore those vicious assaults.
Heart-breaking as these stories are, sharing them with the public pushed other women to speak up about their experiences. Women, though they are perceived as weak or relatively unimportant within the Egyptian society, are now rising above all odds and are taking matters into their own hands.
Another initiative the project just launched is a documentary film titled "Bent Bemeet Bent" which translates to "One Girl is Worth a 100." The film, which will have its very first screening in Qena on Oct. 1, features a number of women talking about their experiences with sexual harassment, how they handle such assaults, and society's perception of the female gender. It also highlights women's ability to combat social stigmas and enables women to rebel against society's expectations by breaking the shackles they're often tied to.
With a large number of NGOs, initiatives, and projects battle the disastrous effects of sexual harassment and gender dynamics within the country, SideWalk Stories joined the battlefield and is standing in the front lines. The unique approach and stance has helped thousands upon thousands of women to feel empowered. Their simple approach on how to effectively eliminate society's issues with the female entity may prove to be much needed change for our generation an generations to come.