Egypt 'bodyguards' take stand against sex assault
BY BRIAN ROHAN Associated Press
Sunday, February 03, 2013
2/03/13 at 6:45 AM
Amid a growing number of brutal attacks on women protesters in Egypt, one stood out: A mob of men on Cairo's Tahrir Square raped a 19-year-old woman with a sharp object, cutting her genitals in an attack that forced her to undergo emergency surgery.
The assault was one of the worst in a string of attacks over the past year in which women have been stripped, groped and raped at demonstrations in Egypt. This past week alone, while mass protests filled city squares around the country, more than two dozen new sexual attacks were reported - a wave that activists call the worst in years and describe as the darkest stain on the country's opposition street movement.
In response, several groups have arisen to protect female demonstrators. On Friday, men and women clad in bright neon vests and hard hats patrolling Cairo's iconic square were part of the latest organization to emerge: Tahrir Bodyguard.
Soraya Bahgat said she founded the group using social media after seeing television footage last November of a mob of men attacking a woman and tearing off her clothes. She had been on the way to a demonstration at Tahrir herself, but instead stayed in, gripped with fear.
"It was sickening. They were dragging her through the street," said the 29-year-old, who works as a human resources manager. "I couldn't imagine something so horrific, and something that fundamentally would keep women from exercising their right to assembly like anyone else. No one should be prevented from demonstrating."
Such is the concern that the United Nations on Thursday demanded authorities to act to bring perpetrators to justice, saying it had reports of 25 sexual assaults on women in Tahrir rallies over the past week. Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault, which also patrols the square, reported 19 incidents on one day alone. It was Jan. 25 - the second anniversary of the start of the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
Extraordinary violence has been used in more than one attack. Human rights campaigner Amnesty International says that several meet the definition of rape, including penetration with fingers and sharp objects. Frequently, fights with knives and blunt weapons break out when people try to stop the attacks
The activists say they can expect little help from the police, who rarely intervene in such cases and who they accuse of failing to properly investigate allegations.
Uniforms are almost never seen at Tahrir during demonstrations except at the fringes.
Original Print Headline: Groups take stand against sex assault
Associated Images:
Tahrir Bodyguard volunteers gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, during a Friday protest. BRIAN ROHAN / Associated Press
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