It’s a problem nearly every woman in the Egyptian capital has experienced — leering, whistles, groping or other sexual harassment on Cairo’s thoroughfares and back-alleys. Soon they’ll be able to instantly speak out on the Internet when it happens.
A planned Web site, Harrasmap, will allow women to quickly report instances of harassment via text message or Twitter, to be loaded onto a digital map of Cairo to show hotspots and areas that might be dangerous for women to walk alone. The data will be shared with activists, media and police.
“The whole idea is to have user-generated information,” said Engy Ghozlan, one of the volunteer activists organizing the program, which is set to launch in the coming months.
Simply feeling that she is not alone, Ghozlan said, can help a woman who is feeling powerless.
“It’s actually encouraging to know that,” she said.
The map could also give a graphic depiction of the extent of a problem that women say is pervasive in Egypt, but which authorities are only starting to acknowledge. A 2008 survey by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights found that 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women living in Cairo said they had been harassed in some way — and 62 percent of men admitted to harassing.
Until recently, the issue was rarely dealt with publicly.
Only after the appearance of Web videos of women being molested in the street by crowds of young men during a holiday four years ago did media begin discussing the problem. Since then, a bill outlining criminal punishment for sexual harassment has gone to parliament, though it has yet to vote on it.
There are numerous theories as to why harassment is so common in Cairo. Some attribute it to a growing Muslim conservatism spreading the idea that women should stay out of the public sphere. Others cite widespread unemployment among the youth, leaving them bored, frustrated and unable to marry.
Many Egyptians see a broader breakdown of courtesy and morals, a malaise from Egypt’s poor economy and political stagnation.
Organizers of Harassmap say the problem is not being overblown, affecting women whether or not they wear the conservative Muslim headscarf and reaching the point were women avoid the streets.
“It’s become part of their everyday life that they have to endure,” Ghozlan said.
They hope the modern platform of Harassmap will make it easier for women to speak out.
The site, which will be anonymous, is to give women a tool for expression and a feeling of solidarity, Ghozlan said — though it is not a counseling hotline or a replacement for alerting police.
After sending an SMS message to the site, women will receive encouragement, safety tips and instructions on how to file a police report.
The plan resembles a site launched in multiple cities around the world, called Hollaback, where women write about incidents where they felt violated or harassed. The sites have gained popularity for the catharsis they offer, and posts frequently feature sassy language and a cellphone picture of the perpetrator.
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