Over the past few weeks, Egyptian social media has been abuzz with reports of a now notorious outfit emblazoned with the demeaning and offensive words Egyptian women face everyday in their ongoing struggle against Egypt’s sexual harassment epidemic. Created by Egyptian interdisciplinary artist Sara Ayman Ragab, the outfit debuted at Cairo’s Mashrabia, not as fashion, but as part of an installation in which art not only imitated life, but was plucked right out of Ragab’s wardrobe. Using her own clothes as the canvas on which to capture some of the urban horror Egyptian women experience in public spaces, the artist adopts candid realism and renders a damning portrayal of the country’s culture of street harassment and catcalling. Jarring and enraging, the lewd language and obscenities stitched into the artist’s clothes become a rallying cry for Egypt’s ongoing #MeToo movement, catapulting Ragab into the national limelight. Egyptian Streets caught up with the artist to talk feminism, art and the power of commiseration among women. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sara Ayman (@sara_ayman_ragab) Can you tell us more about your career as an artist? How…
The Egyptian Artist Behind the Viral Sexual Harassment Outfit
November 29, 2020