July 06 Newsletter

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In Memory of Huda
Hind ElHinnawy

On July 22nd, a network of women’s associations held a symposium in Tanta in commemoration of the two year anniversary of the death of rape victim Huda Farouk El Zaher. Huda was only 19 years old at the time of her death, when she was lured to an empty office by her attacker after promises of employment. Her heart condition made her unable to endure the subsequent sexual assault and she died shortly after the incident. After her death, her parents were not only made to endure their grief but also the deep shame that is usually felt by the families of rape victims in Egypt. This shame is rooted in the double-faced nature of Egyptian society, which tends to give men the license to do what they want, while women are left to bear most of the consequences. Accordingly, Huda’s murderer was sentenced to only three years in prison and will be free next year.

Unfortunately, rape and sexual assault in Egypt seems to be on the rise. It is not unusual to see the following headlines in the daily newspapers, “19 Imprisoned After Forming a Network to Rape Young Girls,” “A Plumber Rapes and Kills a Child,” “A Teacher Rapes his Female Student During Private Lessons,” “Two Men Rape Their Cousin Then Kill Him.” These headlines highlight only a fraction of the reported cases, which are themselves only a minute percentage of the incidents of rape that do in fact occur, since victims often prefer to suffer in silence rather than expose themselves and their families to the shame and often also the blame that Egyptian society bestows upon the victims of these crimes.

According to research conducted by The Alliance for Arab Women, 86% of Egyptian rape victims sampled say they were raped between the ages of 12 and 17. In addition, according to research done by the National Planning Institute, the 760 reported cases of rape in 1994 represented only 2% of the total. Even if this last estimate (2%) seems improbably low, as already noted, the overwhelming majority of rape cases are not reported out of fear for the social position of the woman and her family.

Moreover, the severity of the physical violence against women has been shown to increase when society unfairly blames the victim. Many in Egyptian society believe that raped women are somehow responsible for provoking the attack, which it is assumed could have been prevented had the woman protected herself adequately, such as by donning a veil and by restricting her freedom of movement and associaiton. Thus, together with the fear of social ostracism, this discriminatory social bias places most of the responsibility for the rape on the woman herself.

According to research, 28% of a random sample of Egyptians of both sexes believe that men are responsible for rape, 25% think that women are responsible, 25% think both are responsible, 12.5% think that society is responsible, and 9.4% think the police and government are responsible. That means that 50% of those polled believe that women are in someway responsible for their own rapes.

Ironically, this mindset contradicts all current research that has been conducted on the motivations that contribute to a man’s decision to rape a woman. Most psychologists agree that rape is about control and violence, not about sex or sexual desire. Moreover research shows that most rapists have lower levels of education and therefore tend to subscribe to more traditional thinking regarding gender relations and roles, and are frustrated by socio-economic pressures such as unemployment.

The most common form of sexual abuse in Egypt, incest, takes place inside the family. In most cases, the male family member uses his physical strength to abuse and rape the weaker female. This results in deep psychological damage to the woman, who often lives in torment for the rest of her life due to the close family ties in Egypt and the prevailing silence on such issues. However, violence against women extends beyond the family and has become a major problem in the workplace. Research has concluded that 66% of women face abuse at work, from verbal harassment to inappropriate touching, or even rape. Insecure economic conditions in Egypt worsen the situation by creating an unequal power dynamic that keeps many women in abusive work environments in exchange for much-needed employment.

We Egyptians must ask ourselves: When did violence against women become such a prevalent feature in our everyday lives? If this abhorrent crime is to be effectively combatted, a campaign must be launched that goes beyond research to addresses the root societal problems that feed sexual abuse. First, Egyptians must stand together and declare that women will not be treated as a safety valve for the collective economic, social, and political frustration of men in Egypt. Furthermore, stronger punishments are needed in order to deter such assaults in an attempt to stop the rising escalation of abuse. The Tanta symposium showed the willingness of brave young women to speak out about the problems that they face on a daily basis. Their courage and determination not to be silenced points to the positive impact that many women’s NGOs are having in Egypt, and gives hope for a brighter future.