Published on Clarion Project (
http://www.clarionproject.org)
Woman Jumps Off Cairo Bridge to Avoid Sexual Harassment
Egyptian human rights organizations called for an inquiry into the death of a girl in the center of Cairo who jumped from a bridge into the Nile River in order to avoid being sexually harassed and possibly burned with acid.
The organizations also demanded an investigation into the police officers involved in the case, who portrayed the girl’s death as a suicide.
One eye witness, Michael Armanios, a student of language and translation in a private university, told MBC (Middle East Broadcasting Corporation) that as he was walking, he saw a girl running from a man who was harassing her and trying to grab her. Suddenly, said Armanios, she jumped from a bridge into the Nile river.
Armanios gave chase with a group of people, caught the man and found that he was carrying acid with which he was likely intending to throw on the girl.
Other eye witnesses denied that the man was carrying acid, but confirmed reports that she was being pursued by a man who had tried to touch her and had been following her for a half an hour.
Two men jumped into the Nile to try to save the girl, who has been identified only as Samya H., age 19. Video footage shows Samya slipping out of the arms of one of the men until she can be seen no longer above water. Armanios said it took an ambulance an hour to arrive on the scene.
Samya’s father said he heard about his daughter’s death through the media, which reported it as a suicide. While at the prosecutor’s office, he heard another version of the event and said it is still not clear to him what exactly happened. He emphasized that his daughter did not suffer from mental problems or depression.
A human rights initiative called “I Saw a Harassment” released a statement saying that, after monitoring media reports of the event which included eye witness testimony, it was clear that the girl jumped off the bridge to escape from a man who was pursuing her.
The organization accused the police of distorting the facts by falsely claiming that she committed suicide due to personal problems and called for an investigation into the police officers.
“Everyone in the government is responsible for this catastrophe. Everyone is responsible and everyone is negligent. Women and girls in Egypt are subjected to sexual harassment and violence every day in public transportation, in the workplaces and in the halls of the universities. Even little girls are exposed to sexual violence,” the organization said in a statement.
Six political parties in Egypt are planning to hold a press conference today to address the increased levels of sexual violence in the country and how state institutions are responding.
According to a recent UN report, more than 99 percent of women in Egypt report that they have experienced some form of sexual harassment – at work, at home or on the street -- ranging from verbal assaults to rape.
Historically in Egypt, victims of sexual harassment and rape are often belittled and, in the worse cases, sexually abused by the police themselves.
In addition, since the victims – both those dressed in hijabs and those without --are continually blamed for “provoking” the attacks, the shame felt by victims prevents them from reporting attacks.
Watch video recording attempt by two men to save Samya from the Nile.
Copyright © 2013 Clarion Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Source URL:
http://www.clarionproject.org/news/girl-jumps-bridge-cairo-avoid-harassment-report
