Civil society bears the burden of fighting sexual harassment in Egypt
Civil organizations are encouraging Egyptian women — and men — to speak out against sexual harassment, and want the nation to start enforcing its laws against the crime.
In a horrific incident in 2013, a microbus driver harassed a girl, then ran her over multiple times when she refused to move until her family arrived to deal with him, killing her. Nobody stopped him, and he got off for being a juvenile.
Earlier this month, the Egyptian parliament approved tougher penalties for sexual harassment, doubling the minimum imprisonment sentence to a year instead of six months, and increasing the fine to a minimum of 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($267) and a maximum of 10,000 pounds instead of 3,000 to 5,000 pounds. In cases of recidivism, the punishment is doubled.
