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New phone app helps Egyptian women fight sexual harassment

A group of young Egyptians has developed a mobile phone app to fight sexual harassment by helping women identify and avoid harassment as well as deal with its aftermath.
A woman speaks on the phone at a metro station in Cairo February 14, 2011.  REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: SOCIETY TRANSPORT) - GM1E72E1IGJ01
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CAIRO — In an attempt to tackle the problem of sexual harassment of girls and women, a group of young Egyptians applied modern solutions to tackle a problem that government initiatives and laws have failed to rein in. The mobile phone app Street Pal acts as a guard to women, protecting them from harassment attempts and giving them ways of dealing with the phenomenon.

Abdul Fattah al-Sharqawi, the app’s developer, said in a press statement Nov. 21 that the number of users reached 800 since the app was launched Oct. 29. He noted that they already received several calls from women telling them about their experiences with sexual harassment and seeking awareness.

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