CAIRO — From June 15-17, Egypt’s Ministry of Interior deployed the largest number of female police cadres it had ever dispatched on Egyptian streets as well as around cinemas and parks in a bid to provide security for the Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations. The task of these female police members was to ward off harassment of and violence against women, which are common during holidays and public events.
The beefed up and organized presence of trained female police officers drew the attention of several local and regional Arabic- and English-language newspapers — some even went so far as to praise the role of women at the Ministry of Interior.