National Council for Women responds to harassment during Eid

CAIRO – 21 July 2018: In preparation for Eid El-Adha, the National Council for Women (NCW) announced on Tuesday that they will operate 24-hours to receive complaints from women during the holiday period. A dedicated operations room administered by the council’s Women’s Complaints Office will receive harassment grievances and offer legal aid to girls and women.

Girls and women can file harassment complaints via email at omb.office@yahoo.com. They can also call the complaints office on 01007525600 and the hotline 15115. Furthermore, they can communicate with the office through the NCW official Facebook page or they can personally visit the office. Above all, they have to file a case against the harasser in the nearest police station.

During the last days, an Egyptian woman was harassed in Cairo’s Fifth Settlement on August 15, 2018. The woman was waiting for her work bus when the harasser circled her with his car three times, making remarks that made her feel uncomfortable. She felt worried and entered a nearby supermarket, hoping the man would leave.

She then saw the man drive up and park his car. She pulled out her phone and started to record the interaction. The video of the incident went viral with thousands of Egyptians debating whether the man’s actions are considered sexual harassment. Some women defended the woman for standing up to a harasser.

The NCW reported a noticeable decline in cases of sexual harassment during last Eid El-Fitr holiday this year, as they only received 17 complaints, according to a press statement released by NCW.

Head of the NCW’s control room Nagla al-Adly said that this drop in sexual assault cases is due to the wide and heavy presence of police, especially female police personnel, and the deployment of quick intervention forces in public areas and street gatherings.

During Eid El-Fitr holiday, Egypt witnessed an intense deployment of female police officers to combat sexual harassment in streets and public areas.

The female officers were heavily deployed at several places in the capital where sexual harassment could possibly occur due to overcrowding, such as the ticket windows of parks and cinemas, Corniche al-Nile and downtown Cairo.