Viral Visual: Sexual Harassment across the Arab World
On a daily basis in the Arab world, 80% of women experience some sort of sexual harassment. The majority of us as women, regardless of how old we are or what we’re wearing, get winked at, hissed at, grabbed or poked – every day.
It doesn’t matter what time of day it is or where we are, the issue is so prevalent that we know it’s bound to happen and there’s just no way it can be avoided.
What happens when the roles are reversed, though? Here’s a video from a Jordanian man describing what “reverse sexual harassment” in Amman would be like – a pointed portrayal of what we women encounter daily.
The video below, which depicts Cairo schoolchildren discussing sexual harassment, gets my blood boiling.
How can sexual harassment be tackled in a society where young boys are taught to believe that women are “asking for it” to ”feed their ego” when they dress “provocatively”, meaning they are unveiled?
This video highlights how deep-rooted the scourge of sexual harassment is in our societies. Rather than judge, we should aim to educate and inform. Women are not a commodity – and the sooner the younger the generation learns that, the better it will be.
WE SAID THIS: H/T @elizabethwhitty and @TahrirBG_DWB. And don’t miss this must read on Sexual Assault and Victim Blaming in Egypt.
