Abstract
In June 2020, the @assaultpolice Instagram account was founded in Egypt to provide a forum for the growing number of sexual harassment accusations leveled against university student, Ahmed Bassam Zaky, and call for an investigation into a 2014 gang-rape incident at the Fairmont Hotel. Egyptian and international media hailed this as advancing #MeToo in Egypt. In June 2020, American University in Cairo (AUC) student, Nadeen Ashraf, created the @assaultpolice Instagram account to provide a forum for the growing number of sexual harassment accusations leveled against university student Ahmed Bassam Zaky and to call for an investigation into a 2014 Fairmont Hotel gang-rape incident. Media hailed @assaultpolice’s work as advancing #MeToo in Egypt. Yet, the work of @assaultpolice’s online activists was made possible by earlier activism. As with #MeToo activism, earlier activists used social media and crowdmapping to provide alternative spaces of testimony. Unlike the current #MeToo activism, they were able to exploit digital media to mobilize volunteers in on-the-ground campaigns and push out new conceptual frames of gendered norms and sexual violence. Since 2014, the state has sought to coopt the movement, leading to its subsequent demobilization. This chapter examines the history of digital activism to combat sexual harassment in Egypt and argues that #MeToo activism is comparatively limited in scope and constrained by the state’s forced demobilization of the movement, although social media remains the last space and tool for activists to address the sexual harassment problem.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Interview, GIZ Project Manager and coordinator of the Network of Women’s Rights Organizations in Egypt, June 2019.
- 2.
Activist names are withheld to protect their safety. In some cases, activists have requested full anonymity, including not using former titles. I have retained the use of ECWR’s director’s name as she is a public figure, having briefly served as former Secretary-General to the reconstituted National Council for Women under the interim government in 2012 (https://ecwronline.org/?page_id=8663).
- 3.
Interview, HarassMap co-founder, January 2014; Personal conversation, HarassMap co-founder, October 2021.
- 4.
These two former ECWR staff members brought on two colleagues to join them in founding HarassMap.
- 5.
There are no published analyses on the class dimensions of Egyptian anti-sexual harassment activism. Based on my participant observation data, HarassMap had outreach teams formed by residents of various neighborhoods that loosely reference upper, middle, or lower class, from elite Zamalek to the ‘ashwai’yaat (slums) of Manshiyet Nasr. They had teams across major urban cities and smaller, rural towns—one of their more active captains, whom I spoke with at multiple trainings, was a middle-aged woman from the conservative, Upper Egyptian, rural town of Sohag.
- 6.
There has been wide belief that Tahrir sexual violence was perpetrated by state-hired baltigiyya, or thugs (Amar, 2011; Langohr, 2013), but a Nazra program director countered this, noting, “Everyone was saying it’s the MB [Muslim Brotherhood] and it’s politically commissioned. No, I’m sorry, from what we’ve seen it’s not politically commissioned. It’s the average man on the street and it is a cultural epidemic and it’s been getting worse because of the constant state of impunity…” (Interview, February 2014).
- 7.
Interview, HarassMap Director Marketing and Communications, April 2014.
- 8.
Interview, Ded el-Taharrush co-founder, April 2014.
- 9.
“Salahha fi dimaghak” was a collaborative effort by HarassMap, Tahrir Bodyguard, OpAntiSH, Nazra for Feminist Studies, and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).
- 10.
Interview, HarassMap Director of Community Outreach, October 2015.
- 11.
Interview, Bassma co-founder, February 2014.
- 12.
Interview, Bassma co-founder, March 2019.
- 13.
Interview, HarassMap Director of Community Outreach, October 2015.
- 14.
Interview, Ded el-Taharrush co-founder, March 2019.
- 15.
Interview, HarassMap Director of Community Outreach, October 2015.
- 16.
Interview, Hoda El-Sadda, August 2019.
- 17.
Interview, HarassMap Safe Areas Operations Manager, April 2014.
- 18.
See Yefet and Lavie (2021) on legitimation strategies in authoritarian regimes.
- 19.
Personal communication, HarassMap staff member, February 2022. This staff member noted that the model promoted by NCW and its UNFPA partner involved a conceptual shift away from “anti-sexual harassment” to the broader “anti-violence against women (VAW),” highlighting the NCW’s effort to minimize attention on sexual harassment and absorb it as one element of a larger VAW effort.
- 20.
Interview, Hoda El-Sadda, August 2019.
- 21.
HarassMap was an exception. They continued to work until June 2020, when they finally canceled their NGO registration.
- 22.
There are important and complex class dimensions with respect to the Fairmont case—according to one report, the multiple individuals involved hailed from families who “wield pervasive influence within the Egyptian state administrations, and reaches those most sheltered in the pillars of the ruling system, both politically and economically” (El Ammar, 2020). However, Zaki’s wealthy, upper-class status did not afford him the same protections as perpetrators in the Fairmont case.
- 23.
Halley et al. (2006) define governance feminism as the “installation of feminists and feminist ideas in actual legal-institutional power,” referring to the way in which feminists working inside political institutions have helped to produce policy and practice.
- 24.
Interview, HarassMap co-founder, March 2012.
- 25.
Interview, HarassMap co-founder, March 2012.
- 26.
See Abdelmonem (2015) for discussion on taharrush, muakasa, and ightasab in Egyptian anti-sexual harassment activism.
- 27.
Though HarassMap shut down in 2020, their crowdmap remains open. Between 2010 and today, their map has received less than 2000 reports. Nine of those were submitted between January and December 2021. No hard numbers are available for reports submitted to any initiative via social media.
References
ABC News. (2014, June 11). Egypt’s President Visits Woman Assaulted During his Victory Celebration. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/06/egypts-president-visits-woman-assaulted-during-his-victory-celebration.
Abdelmonem, A. (2015). Reconceptualizing Sexual Harassment in Egypt: A Longitudinal Assessment of el-Taharrush el-Ginsy in Arabic Online Forums and Anti-Sexual Harassment Activism. Kohl: Journal of Gender and Body Research, 1(1), 23–41.
Abdelmonem, A. (2020). Disciplining Bystanders: (Anti)Carcerality, Ethics, and the Docile Subject in HarassMap’s ‘The Harasser is a Criminal’ Media Campaign in Egypt. Feminist Media Studies, Onlinefirst, 22, 238. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2020.1785911
Abdelmonem, A., & Galan, S. (2017). Action-Oriented Responses to Sexual Harassment: The Cases of HarassMap and WenDo. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 13(1), 156–167.
Abul Komsan, N. (2009, December 13–14). Sexual Harassment in the Arab Region: Cultural Challenges and Legal Gaps. ECWR. Last Accessed November 7, 2021. https://egypt.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/8655f498-85a0-434e-9396-bfa3b390f63e.pdf.
Abuzaid, R. A. (2019). ‘Foreign Funding’ Case No. 173/2011: The Implications of State Encroachment on the Feminist Community in Egypt. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 15(2), 237–243.
Al-Ali, N. (2000). Secularism, Gender and the State in the Middle East: The Egyptian Women’s Movement. Cambridge University Press.
Amar, P. (2011). Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out? International Feminist Journal of Politics, 13(3), 299–328.
Aouragh, M., & Alexander, A. (2011). The Egyptian Experience: Sense and Nonsense of the Revolution. International Journal of Communication, 5, 1344–1358.
BBC News. (2018, December 31). Amal Fathy: Egypt Court Imposes Jail Term Over Harassment Video. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46720727.
Begum, R. (2014, June 15). How Egypt Can Turn the Tide on Sexual Assault. Mada Masr. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.madamasr.com/en/2014/06/15/opinion/society/how-egypt-can-turn-the-tide-on-sexual-assault/.
Boros, C. (2013, November 12). POLL-Egypt is Worst Arab State for Women, Comoros Best. Thomson Reuters News Foundation. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://news.trust.org/item/20131108170910-qacvu/?source=spotlight-writaw.
Cai, Y., & Zhou, T. (2016). New Information Communication Technologies and Social Protest in China. Asian Survey, 56(4), 731–753.
Egypt Today. (2021a, May 11). Egypt’s Attorney General Says 'Fairmont Gangrape' Lawsuit Cannot Be Filed Due to Lack of Evidence. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/103831/Egypt’s-Attorney-General-says-Fairmont-gangrape-lawsuit-cannot-be-filed.
Egypt Today. (2021b, July 12). Egyptian House Approves Draft Law Toughening Penalty of Sexual Harassment. Last Accessed November 4, 2021. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/105972/Egyptian-House-approves-draft-law-toughening-penalty-of-sexual-harassment.
Egyptian Streets. (2014, June 11). Egypt’s President Sisi Visits Victims of Brutal Sexual Assault. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://egyptianstreets.com/2014/06/11/egypts-president-sisi-visits-victims-of-brutal-sexual-assault/.
Egyptian Streets. (2017, November 14). Sexual Harassment Rate in Egypt Is Only 9.6 Percent: Head of National Council for Women. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://egyptianstreets.com/2017/11/14/sexual-harassment-rate-in-egypt-is-only-9-6-percent-head-of-national-council-for-women/.
El Ammar, M. (2020, September 22). The ‘Fairmont’ Case: Sexual Violence and Class Immunity. Daraj. Last Accessed January 26, 2022. https://daraj.com/en/55598/.
El-Deeb, B. (2013). Study on the Ways and Methods to Eliminate Sexual Harassment in Egypt: Results/Outcomes and Recommendations. UN Women. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/harassmap/media/uploaded-files/287_Summaryreport_eng_low-1.pdf.
El-Mahdi, R. (2010). Does Political Islam Impede Gender-Based Mobilization? The Case of Egypt. Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions, 11(3–4), 379–396.
El-Meehy, A. (2017). Islamist and Non-Islamist Local Activism: Comparative Reflections from Egypt’s Popular Committees. Middle East Studies Political Science Project. https://pomeps.org/islamist-and-non-islamist-local-activism-comparative-reflections-from-egypts-popular-committees.
ElSayed, H., & Rizzo, H. (2014). Media, Political Opportunity and the Anti-Sexual Harassment Campaign in Post-2011 Egypt. Unpublished manuscript.
El-Tahawy, M. (2018, March 13). A #MeToo Moment for Egypt? Maybe. New York Times. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/opinion/egypt-metoo-email-girl.html.
Eltantawy, N. (2019, November 18). In Egypt, the Me Too Movement Is Falling Short. Fair Observer. Last Accessed November 5, 2021. https://www.fairobserver.com/culture/me-too-movement-sexual-harassment-egypt-middle-east-womens-rights-news-61521/.
Eltantawy, N., & Wiest, J. B. (2011). Social Media in the Egyptian Revolution: Reconsidering Resource Mobilization Theory. International Journal of Communication, 5, 1207–1224.
Farouk, A. (2019, December 26). We Chat With Zeina Dessouky, the 19 Year-Old Who Created a Platform for Girls to Share Stories of Their Harassment. Teen Times. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://teenntimes.com/2019/12/26/we-chat-with-zeina-dessouky-the-19-year-old-who-created-a-platform-for-girls-to-share-stories-of-their-harassment/.
FIDH, Nazra for Feminist Studies, New Women Foundation, & Uprising of Women in the Arab World. (2014). Egypt: Keeping Women Out. Sexual Violence Against Women in the Public Sphere. Joint Report. Accessed January 29, 2015. https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/egypt_women_final_english.pdf.
Galan, S. (2016). Beyond the Logic of State Protection: Feminist Self-Defense in Cairo After the January 25 Revolution. Kohl: Journal of Gender and Body Research, 2(1), 71–89.
Galan, S., & Abdelmonem, A. (2022). From the Streets to the Campus: Youth Activism Against Sexual Harassment in Educational Institutions in January 25th Revolution Egypt. In C. L. Lovin & I. Rivers (Eds.), Young People Shaping Democratic Politics: Interrogation Inclusion, Mobilising Education. Palgrave. Forthcoming.
Ghazal, R. T. (2020). #AnaKaman–MeToo in the Arab World: A Journalist’s Account. In The Routledge Handbook of the Politics of the #MeToo Movement. Taylor & Francis.
Grove, N. (2015). The Cartographic Ambiguities of HarassMap: Crowdmapping Security and Sexual Violence in Egypt. Security Dialogue, 46(4), 345–364.
Hafez, S. (2014a). Bodies that Protest: The Girl in the Blue Bra, Sexuality, and State Violence in Revolutionary Egypt. Signs, The Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 40(1), 20–28.
Hafez, S. (2014b). The Revolution Shall Not Pass Through Women’s Bodies: Egypt, Uprising and Gender Politics. Journal of North African Studies, 19(2), 172–185.
Halley, J., Kotiswaran, P., Shamir, H., & Thomas, C. (2006). Rape at Rome: Feminist Interventions in the Criminalization of Sex-Related Violence in Positive International Law. Michigan Journal of International Law, 30(1), 1–123.
Hamzawy, A. (2016, November 24). Egypt’s Anti-Protest Law: Legalizing Authoritarianism. Al-Jazeera. Last Accessed November 7, 2021. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2016/11/24/egypts-anti-protest-law-legalising-authoritarianism.
Hassan, R., Qomsan, N. A., & Shoukry, A. (2008). Clouds in Egypt’s Sky: Sexual Harassment, from Verbal Harassment to Rape–a Sociological Study. ECWR Report. Accessed January 19, 2015. http://egypt.unfpa.org/Images/Publication/2010_03/6eeeb05a-3040-42d2-9e1c-2bd2e1ac8cac.pdf.
Human Rights Watch. (2014, August 30). Egypt: Dissolution Ultimatum for Independent Groups. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/08/30/egypt-dissolution-ultimatum-independent-groups#.
Information and Decision Support Center (The Egyptian Cabinet). (2021, May 3). Egypt Digitalization in Alignment with Egypt Vision 2030 for SDGS. Last Accessed January 26, 2022. https://idsc.gov.eg/Upload/DocumentLibrary/Attachment_A/4798/3%20-%20EGYPT%20DIGITALIZATION.pdf.
Jad, I. (2003). The NGOization of Arab Women’s Movements. Al-Raida, 38–47. http://www.alraidajournal.com/index.php/ALRJ/article/view/442.
Kassem, N. (2017). Transformation or Just More Information: Social Media Use and Perceived Opportunities for Mobilizing Change in Post-Revolution Egypt. In M. Friedrichsen & Y. Kamalipour (Eds.), Digital Transformation in Journalism and News Media: Media Management, Media Convergence and Globalization. Springer.
Khairat, F. (2020, September 20). Meet Assault Police’s Nadeen Ashraf: The Student Behind Egypt’s Anti-Harassment Revolution. Egyptian Streets. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://egyptianstreets.com/2020/09/20/meet-nadeen-ashraf-the-student-behind-egypts-anti-harrassment-social-media-revolution/.
Khamis, S. (2011). The Transformation Egyptian Media Landscape: Changes, Challenges, and Comparative Perspectives. International Journal of Communication, 5, 1159–1177.
Langohr, V. (2013). ‘This is Our Square’: Fighting Sexual Assault at Cairo Protests. Middle East Report, 238(Fall), 18–35.
Langohr, V. (2014, July 7). New President, old Pattern of Sexual Violence in Egypt. Middle East Report. http://www.merip.org/mero/mero070714.
Library of Congress (LOC). (2014, June 19). Egypt: Rape and Sexual Assault Suspects Referred to Criminal Court. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2014-06-19/egypt-rape-and-sexual-assault-suspects-referred-to-criminal-court/.
Library of Congress (LOC). (2019, April). Initiatives to Counter Fake News in Selected Countries. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://irp.fas.org/eprint/lloc-fake-news.pdf.
Library of Congress (LOC). (2020, September 8). Egypt: Parliament Approves Draft Law Concealing the Identity of Victims of Sexual Violence Crimes during the Pretrial Investigative Stage. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2020-09-08/egypt-parliament-approves-draft-law-concealing-the-identity-of-victims-of-sexual-violence-crimes-during-the-pretrial-investigative-stage/.
Lim, M. (2012). Clicks, Cabs, and Coffee Houses: Social Media and Oppositional Movements in Egypt, 2004–2011. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 231–248.
Lughod, A. (2011). The Active Social Life of ‘Muslim Women’s Rights’: A Plea for Ethnography, Not Polemic, With Cases from Egypt and Palestine. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 6(1), 1–45.
Mada Masr. (2014, June 11). Sisi Visits Tahrir Square Mob Sexual Assault Victim in Hospital. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.madamasr.com/en/2014/06/11/news/u/sisi-visits-tahrir-square-mob-sexual-assault-victim-in-hospital/.
Mada Masr. (2018, September 12). 2-Year Prison Sentence for Man Accused of Sexual Harassment Over Eid. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.madamasr.com/en/2018/09/12/news/u/2-year-prison-sentence-for-man-accused-of-sexual-harassment-over-eid/.
Mada Masr. (2021, September 2). Witnesses Arrested and Intimidated: How the Fairmont Rape Case Fell Apart. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.madamasr.com/en/2021/09/02/feature/politics/witnesses-arrested-and-intimidated-how-the-fairmont-rape-case-fell-apart/.
Marzouk, A., & Vanderveen, G. (2021). Fighting Sexual Violence in Egypt on Social Media: A Visual Essay on Assault Police. Global Public Health, Onlinefirst. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2021.1991972.
Mustafa, O. (2021, April 11). Ahmed Bassam Zaki Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Sexual Assault. Egyptian Streets. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://egyptianstreets.com/2021/04/11/ahmed-bassam-zaki-sentenced-to-8-years-in-prison-for-sexual-assault/.
National Council for Women. (2017, March). National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. http://ncw.gov.eg/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/final-version-national-strategy-for-the-empowerment-of-egyptian-women-2030.pdf.
Nazra For Feminist Studies. (2014, June 9). Joint Statement: The Mob-sexual Assaults and Gang Rapes in Tahrir Square During the Celebrations of the Inauguration of the New Egyptian President is Sufficient Proof for the Inefficiency of the Recent Legal Amendments to Combat these Crimes. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://nazra.org/en/2014/06/mob-sexual-assaults-and-gang-rapes-tahrir-square-during-celebrations-inauguration-new.
Replogle, E. (2011). Reference Groups, Mob Mentality, and Bystander Intervention: A Sociological Analysis of the Lara Logan Case. Sociological Forum, 26(4), 796–805.
Reuters. (2018, July 17). Egypt Targets Social Media with New Law. Last Accessed January 26, 2022. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-politics/egypt-targets-social-media-with-new-law-idUSKBN1K722C.
Rizzo, H. (2014). The Role of Women’s Rights Organizations in Promoting Masculine Responsibility: The Anti-Sexual Harassment Campaign in Egypt. Cairo Papers in Social Science, 33(1), 102–129.
Rizzo, H., Price, A. M., & Meyer, K. (2012). Anti-Sexual Harassment Campaign in Egypt. Mobilization, 17(4), 457–475.
Saleh, Y. (2014, June 10). Egypt’s Sisi Tells Interior Minister to Fight Sexual Harassment. Reuters. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-sisi-harassment/egypts-sisi-tells-interior-minister-to-fight-sexual-harassment-idUSKBN0EL17J20140610.
Samir, N. (2020, August 13). The Infamous Fairmont Incident: What We Know So Far. Daily News Egypt. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://dailyfeed.dailynewsegypt.com/2020/08/13/the-infamous-fairmont-incident-what-we-know-so-far/.
Skalli, L. H. (2014). Young Women and Social Media Against Sexual Harassment. Journal of North African Studies, 19(2), 244–258.
Tadros, M. (2014). Reclaiming the Streets for Women’s Dignity: Effective Initiatives in the Struggle Against Gender-Based Violence in Between Egypt’s Two Revolutions. Institute for Development Studies, Evidence Report #48: Empowerment of Women and Girls, January 2014, Accessed December 20, 2014. http://www.wluml.org/sites/wluml.org/files/Tadors%20Reclaiming%20the%20Streets.pdf.
Tadros, M. (2015). Contentious and Prefigurative Politics: Vigilante Groups’ Struggle against Sexual Violence in Egypt (2011–2013). Development and Change, 46(6), 1345–1368.
Tadros, M. (2016). Resistance, Revolt, and Gender Justice in Egypt. Syracuse University Press.
Taha, R. M. (2014, June 9). Sexual Assault Reported in Tahrir Square During Al-Sisi’s Inauguration: Anti-Harassment Group. Dailey News Egypt. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://dailynewsegypt.com/2014/06/09/sexual-assault-reported-tahrir-square-al-sisis-inauguration-anti-harassment-group/.
Tarrow, S. (2011). Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics (3rd ed.).
Walsh, D. (2020). The 22-Year-Old Force Behind Egypt’s Growing #MeToo Movement. New York Times, October 2, 2020. Last Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/world/middleeast/egypt-metoo-sexual-harassment-ashraf.html.
Yefet, B., & Lavie, L. (2021). Legitimation in Post-Revolutionary Egypt: Al-Sisi and the Renewal of Authoritarianism. Digest of Middle East Studies, 30(3), 170–185.
Young, C. (2014). HarassMap: Using Crowdsourcing Data to Map Sexual Harassment in Egypt. Technology Innovation Management Review. Accessed January 17, 2015. http://timreview.ca/sites/default/files/article_PDF/Young_TIMReview_March2014.pdf.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Abdelmonem, A. (2023). Egypt’s #MeToo in the Shadow of Revolution: Digital Activism and the Demobilization of the Sexual Harassment Movement. In: Skalli, L.H., Eltantawy, N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Media and Communication in the Middle East and North Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11980-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11980-4_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-11979-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-11980-4
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)