Advertisement

Rights Group Calls On Egypt To Investigate Attacks On Women

Amnesty International is calling on Egyptian authorities to immediately launch an investigation into reports of sexual harassment and assaults on women protesting in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday. The women, seeking to call attention to the sexual harassment of female protesters, were reportedly groped and punched by a mob of men. “These women stood up to demand an end to sexual harassment. What they got was intimidation and sexual assault,” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. Women in Egypt have increasingly found themselves the target of attacks from groups of men and security services in the unrest surrounding the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. In December, women protesters were beaten by soldiers and dragged through the streets.

Advertisement