Friday
Feb022007
It could happen to anyone we know
Issandr El Amrani
This al-Masri al-Youm report highlighted by Hossam is truly terrifying:
Two police corporals are currently under investigation for attempting to rape a woman in Tahrir Square’s underground metro (Sadat Station) on Wednesday, Al-Masry Al-Youm reports.This could happen to your sister or mother.
The woman approached a police corporal inside the underground station, asking him for directions to the nearest exit to KFC at 1:30pm. To her surprise, he pointed at the security office in the station, and told her that was her destination, before grabbing her to the office and attempting to rape her with the help of another police corporal. The woman managed to escape, in complete trauma with torn clothes.
Reader Comments (16)
This is a shame. Reading your blog sometimes makes me afraid of going back to Egypt. What place is that, where you have to be afraid of policemen? In public! Disgusting…
...or it could happen to *you* (your readers aren't all male, you know; and Egyptian cops have sexually abused men too)
Indeed, SP.
What a shame...what a shame!
Is that all what we can say: what a shame!!!. indeed!!!. that could happened to me!!! indeed!!!. no one is asking why this happens? who is responsible for this happening? how can we get rid of this happening? how egyptians, police or otherwise, have been degraded into this unethical uncivilised level!!! unfortunately we all know the answers, so I don't need to repeat it here. when i was in egypt, driving daily through mariouteyya road to go over to the circle road, my daughter and I have to laugh at a big sign their stating: egypt, the land of civilisation. to get it a correct reading of it reflecting the current state of egypt: the land of safalisation. It is coming from colloqual egyptian (Safaalah).
To some of you it seems a pleasure to ruin Egypt... Why don't you get more involved with news from other countries and count your blessings? Anyway, Egypt can do without those who are neither pleased nor want to be constructive.
Ankh, people who discuss a sad situation on a blog are not "ruining Egypt." They care about Egypt and are angry that things have got to this mess in the country. Otherwise they would not take the trouble of reading El-Masri El-Youm, which you could equally blame for "ruining Egypt."
Who said this wasn't happening before? This case was reported, that's the only difference and the fact that it happened in Al Qahirah as oppose to some place in upper Egypt. In a culture which condemns the victim, she is one brave woman.
Ankh, leave the 'hear no evil, see no evil mentality'. It's that same mentality el mwadyana fi dahiya (excuse me for being blunt!). How are we ever going to improve if we never identify the wrongs in this country and act on them?
Besides, why should women (and this goes for the US, as well - happy now?) have to feel that they take their lives and their physical safety in their hands whenever they leave the house? This "bint familia" thing has got to stop. This may come as news for some people, but whenever most women and girls leave their houses, they really aren't interested in a) being raped, b) being touched, c) followed, d) obliged to listen to lewd sound effects, e) opportuned, f) made to feel like that travel through public space at the pleasure of men- and that that "permission" could be rescinded at any time.
I don't think anyone understood the word "constructive". Constructive means something to IMPROVE a situation, not to be "blind" about it. I don't find the comment "land of safalisation" (comment 5) anything but destructive, and as someone well said, rape happens everywhere. But this is not the issue - the issue is we want Egypt to be better, not to keep finding what's wrong with it without suggesting a solution. Egypt needs our help, not only our sarcasm - that is if we REALLY care about it.
Did any of you read comment 1?
Ankh, agreed, rape happens everywhere and the culture of silence is not unique to Egypt. What's frightening is that this is one in a long line of abuses by the police, the very people who are supposed to protect the public's rights, and in a state where there is little accountability for those in positions of power, there's reason to be sceptical about the prospect of bringing these cops to justice.
Many years ago a male American friend of mine was walking through a particularly dark area in Maadi, I think over one of those creepy deserted railway overpass bridges, when he was assaulted by a big fat policeman. He spoke good Arabic and managed to frighten the guy off by implying that he was very connected. It shook him up a lot.
And Ankh? Come on now, you have to admit that something is seriously out of whack here with the security services. And it's not like people are just criticizing: problems must be highlighted if people are even going to consider solutions.
Land of Safalisation is actually not a way to be destructive or even sarcastic. It is a way to state a fact about the state of current Egypt in one word. The solution dear friends is known but no one is doing anything about it. It is Education stupid! as Clinton once said but using economy instead. Education has been deteriorating since the so called July 52 revolution. Without real education at home in schools and universities through a responsible media no way but to keep and a land of safalisation. The real question is how can we get there. how can we achieve this? Do we need another revolution? or what?
And whatever happened to the policemen? WHere they identitfied, arrested or what?
I don't think it happens only in Egypt. Even in Italy, from where i'm writing, or in Spain, some policemen are violent with people. The only difference is that nothing comes out. Even though you are arresting a terrorist you don't have the right to to something like that!!
My compliments for this blog, i've discover it through a magazine.
jen
Oh, I wish I could give her a big hug and congratulate her on escaping! What a triumph of animal instinct, to be able to fight & flee instead of freeze in such an adrenaline-filled, frightening situation. I am impressed by her.