CAIRO — In a recently leaked audio recording that went viral on social media, Cairo University media professor Yaseen Lasheen allegedly is heard sexually harassing an anonymous student and trying to blackmail her. The case is not the first accusation against Lasheen, who was already under investigation by the university for other reasons, and it brings the subject of sexual harassment in Egypt's educational institutions to the public's attention once again.

Lasheen has denied all allegations against him.

The Aug. 4 leak prompted Hadia Abdul Fattah, a women’s activist and founder of the Egyptian initiative “We will not remain silent on sexual harassment," to call upon Egyptian women to share their stories through the hashtag “I_was_harassed by_my_teacher” on their Facebook pages.

She launched the initiative in June 2016, calling for combating sexual harassment and encouraging girls to speak up through workshops and awareness campaigns. Abdul Fattah said she was first harassed when she was in fifth grade. She told Al-Monitor that she decided to launch the hashtag last year to expose harassing professors, who use their position to do whatever they want.