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Woman Wins Landmark Sexual Harassment Case in Egypt

By Yaniv Berman

Egyptian women's rights activists celebrated earlier this week when for the first time a sexual harassment case was taken to court and ended with a three-year jail sentence with hard labor for the attacker. The North Cairo courthouse handed down its sentence against Sharif Gum'a Gibril in the first hearing, also fining him 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($900).

"I was thrilled with the verdict, which gave us hope that we can completely eradicate this phenomenon of sexual harassment," Noha Rushdi, the woman who won the case, told The Media Line.

According to Rushdi, Gibril, a truck driver, stopped his vehicle in front of her and groped her breast.

"In the first second I felt very weak, as if I was about to faint. But immediately after I saw I could stop him and it was very natural to do it. That's why I was surprised that no girl has ever done this before," Rushdi said.

"Rushdi received threats but went on to press charges," Angie Ghozlan, project coordinator for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights (ECWR), told The Media Line. Sexual harassment in Egypt is widespread. A recent survey conducted by the ECWR revealed that 84 percent of the women surveyed were sexually harassed at least once in their lives.

"There are social-economic reasons that push men into performing such acts, but also there is a lack of order in the streets. We are trying hard to encourage the minister of interior to establish more security in the streets," said Ghozlan.

Ghozlan, who attended the trial, said the court was packed with human rights activists and journalists, who were "all supportive of Noha."

"This sentence sends a message to all segments of Egyptian society that sexual harassment is a crime and will not be tolerated. The sentence will also encourage participation in the dialogue on developing a legal definition of sexual harassment and the need to formulate laws criminalizing it in the Egyptian Penal Code," the ECWR wrote in a statement.

Rushdi's case resonated across Egypt and received much support in the media and on the street.

"After the trial was over, I walked the street and I heard people talking about it, saying how amazing it was that I won. All the media - TV, radio, papers, they all reported the case," said Rushdi.

Twenty-five-year-old Rushdi is a documentary filmmaker. Asked if she planned to create a documentary about her own experience, Rushdi said she was definitely thinking about it.

She expressed the hope that more women would complain against men who harass them.

"If this would happen, this phenomenon could be eradicated in one year," she said.

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