Egyptian women speak up about sex crimes

WHEN NADEEN ASHRAF was walking through a wealthy part of Cairo last month, she was not surprised to hear sexual comments aimed her way. Most women in Egypt have experienced sexual harassment or violence. But her catcaller was surprised when the 22-year-old philosophy student jumped into the taxi he was driving. “I had an hour-long conversation with him,” she recalls. “It was so foreign to him that this was sexual harassment.”For much of this year Egypt has wrestled with the problem of sexual violence and the issue of women’s rights. Men there have long policed women’s behaviour, using antiquated notions of morality, while tolerating crimes by men against women. But lately young women like Ms Ashraf (pictured) have been challenging the country’s conservative, male-dominated culture, using social media to amplify their voices. It has not always gone well.