Harassment on Cairo bus revives debate over women’s rights in Egypt

An Egyptian woman who said she was harassed in public earlier this week is facing a wave of online backlash including death threats, reflecting entrenched misogyny in Egypt, where sexual harassment and violence against women remain widespread despite legal reforms.

Mariam Shawky, a theater actress, shared a video on Sunday evening that has since gone viral of herself confronting a man on a crowded public bus in Cairo for allegedly stalking her and harassing her verbally and physically.

In the video, Shawky screams at the man to look at the camera, calling him a “harasser,” a “thief” and “trash.” The footage cuts abruptly as he moves toward her and appears to try to grab the phone. Subsequent clips show Shawky continuing to film as the confrontation escalates, with the man hurling insults such as “trash” and “unreligious” and bystanders telling her to shut up and sit down as another passenger briefly restrains him.

In another video she posted on TikTok, Shawky claimed that the man on the bus had been following her for nearly a week. On the day of the bus incident, she said that he was waiting outside her workplace and boarded the same bus.