By Mona Ezzat “I can’t say anything so I won’t lose my job,” says Fatma Mohamed, a factory worker in the Egyptian province of Gharbiya. Harassment in the workplace is part of Mohamed’s daily life. “In the factory, it’s a phenomenon that poor women have to live with.” The supervisor uses his authority to harass us, she says. “If a worker fights back or even considers filing a complaint she would either be dismissed, humiliated or treated unjustly.” The real issue for Mohamed is that she doesn’t know how to protect her rights or who to complain to, so like many others, remains silent to avoid scandal or dismissal. A study by UN Women in 2013 said that 99 percent of Egyptian women have been subjected to harassment. The National Council for Human Rights in November 2012 said that 70 percent of women are harassed in the streets, public spaces and transportation. Although officials at the Ministry of Manpower say they have not received complaints of sexual harassment, a study by the Egyptian Labor Union in 2014 shows that 30 percent of women in Egypt are subjected to verbal harassment in…
Culture of Silence Pervades Workplace Harassment of Women in Egypt
September 29, 2015
