Four men arrested for harassing women

CAIRO – 25 June 2017: Four men were arrested for verbally harassing women in Cairo’s Fustat National Park on Sunday, the first day of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which follows the holy month of Ramadan.

“There will be no tolerance for anyone who would ruin another citizen’s joy” during Eid, a security source at the park told Egypt Today.

On harasser was arrested early in the morning and three others later in the day in the same park.

Legal experts told Egypt Today that the punishment for verbal harassment is one year in prison, while physical harassment could land the offender in prison for five to seven years.

Eid al-Fitr is the three-day celebration that follows the 30 days of fasting during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. While Ramadan is known for its austerity and spirituality, in Egypt, Eid has come to be characterized by a significant spike in incidents of sexual harassment toward women. Such incidents range from cat-calling to groping or flashing women.

In one of many campaigns to combat sexual harassment in Egypt, the Ministry of Interior has increased female police patrols in an effort to detect and report incidents of harassment and arrest harassers, particularly during Eid. Furthermore, in preparation for Eid al-Fitr the National Council for Women (NCW) announced they will operate 24-hours to receive complaints from women during the holiday period.

According to a statement released Thursday on the NCW’s official Facebook page, there will be a dedicated operations room administered by the council’s Women’s Complaints Office to receive grievances regarding harassment and offer legal aid to girls and women.