A video showing a policewoman arresting a sexual harasser outside a cinema in Cairo has gone viral in Egypt, with many on social media praising the initiative to employ more policewomen to tackle sexual harassment.
The video shows the woman grabbing the man and shocking him with an electric rod as dozens await to enter the cinema.
The arrest is just one of many documented by photographs and videos during the past three days of Eid. According to Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, the first two days of Eid saw 84 individuals arrested for sexual harassment.
The department dealing with violence against women was established in 2013. Following this, Egypt passed an anti-harassment law in 2014, which penalizes those found guilty of sexual harassment with a fine of LE 3,000 to LE 5,000 ($419 to $700) and/or a jail sentence of no less than six months.
The intensified efforts come as public holidays often witness a surge of sexual violence against women. Egypt’s police had urged women to report harassment and to not remain silent.
According to a 2013 UN study, which was conducted in liaison with Egyptian NGOs and officials, 99 percent of women in Egypt have witnessed some form of sexual harassment.
Comments (38)
I think it’s absolutely wonderful that we are finally incorporating females into male-dominated workforces. And like any normal person, it does give me great joy to watch a sexual harasser face retribution (even if it is a fraction of what he/she has done). However, it pains me to say that this woman’s conduct was not professional. Police violence was an issue that Egypt always suffered from, and sadly it doesn’t seem like it will change.
I completely agree.
This guy amakin big problem for his self
he lying to the police and he knowsthats whatsagonna happen
to him when he lying .
He needs to respect the police
Good that they are actually doing something about it…in Cairo. But i’m not sure that her violence is justified! I am an abuse therapist with a history of abuse so I do not make these comments lightly.
We need like 10 millions of this woman but without the violence of course.
can you imagine her husband when she gets angry at home!
I don’t think the video has anything to do with her private life at home.
He deserve it … !
Not really, most of the harassers are mentally ill
so they better help them seek treatment than beating them up
Mentally ill ! that’s arguable
If police officers don’t respect the law, how can we tell people to respect it?
Sex offender must pay between 3k to 5k LE or jail for minimum 6 months. Nothing in the law about humiliation, hitting or electrocuting
Except of course when they resist arrest.
Some actions deserve more than just a fine.
Sometimes some “parenting ” is more worthwhile. The officer scolded him and most likely, (as seen at the end of the video), she called the victim to get him to apologize. Why clog up the courts with such petty matters?
My bet is…. if he genuinely apologized to the victim, she let him go. Lesson learnt.
Most probably you are right. The guy will apologize and go free. That explain why crime rate and harrasement is very high in Egypt. There is no law. Police officers can punish who they want and release who they want
I get your point.
But let’s be fair. This guy is not a murderer or rapist. He probably was just teasing the young woman. I highly doubt in such a crowded place the young man would be touching or forcing her indecently. We don’t have all the facts but I believe some petty matters like simple misconduct can have a better result by an apology than a fine. Young people need discipline for matters like this. Not a jail term.
Harassment is not a petty offense! It’s assault. What if that were your mother?! an apology is NOT enough.
Ok….so waste the court’s time, throw him in an already over crowded prison for six months with REAL criminals because he hit on a girl at the cinema. He should be your son!
If he was my son, I would agree with the policewoman about how she punished him. And I would share my part of guilty as I didn´t gave him values about how to respect a woman. He deserves this and more. Good for the policewoman!
……and your point differs from mine in what way ?
‘just teasing’ eh? So of course the policewoman was was just touching him with the rod
So what you think? He was raping the woman in the middle of a crowded cinema? When one starts thinking with their emotions instead of their brain, I say goodbye.
I think you’re missing the scale of sexual harassment and violence against women in counties including Egypt. Women are frequently raped in crowded public places including streets and on buses. A common technique if an area is particularly crowded is for a group of men to gather round the victim and rape her standing. He could very well have been trying to rape her in the cinema – we simply don’t know. It’s hardly unlikely that he may well have helped himself to some groping.
‘I highly doubt in such a crowded place the young man would be touching or forcing her indecently’
These guys often take advantage of a crowded place to do just that!
They aren’t mentally ill, just sexually frustrated.
oh shut up . he deserved a slap !
No need to be rude! People on the internet are so nice to each other!!!! So easy to be nasty when you are not face to face, isn’t it Sara. Or didn’t your parents teach you any manners?