Last year, Egyptian artists Mira Shihadeh and Zeft painted the mural “The Circle
of Hell” just outside of Cairo's Tahrir Square.
At the centre of the mural is a lone woman surrounded by lecherous
wide-eyed men with snake-like tongues.
Knives smeared with blood are aimed at the woman. Is it her blood, or another woman’s? Perhaps it is the blood of many women. Whoever the blood belongs to, the woman in
the mural cannot escape: the throngs of men who are holding her hostage stretch
deep into the background, suggesting the violence the woman is facing will not
only be unfathomable and terrifying, but will end with her dead at the roadside.
The mural of course is
not just a piece of art inspired by the street harassment and sexual violence, it
could very well be a picture or a video depicting the public lives of women and
girls in Egypt. In fact, on the evening
of Sunday, June 8, during the inaugural celebration for Abdel Fattah
el-Sisi, Egypt's newly-elected president, a
teenager, surrounded by men, was stripped naked, groped, and sexually
attacked. A two-minute video of the
attack shows the young woman limping towards a police car; her body, wounded
and bloody from the sexual beatings, was still being pawed and grabbed by several
men who wanted pieces of her.
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| “The Circle of Hell” by Mira Shihadeh and Zeft, Cairo, Egypt, 2013. |
Unfortunately, this
attack was just one of many that took place at the national gathering. Nine other women reported that they too were
sexually harassed and assaulted. Without
a doubt, many more attacks occurred that evening—attacks that have been
witnessed, but ignored, attacks that went unreported. This, despite the issuance of a new decree
declaring that sexual harassment may be punishable for up to five years in
prison. However, according to Egyptian
feminist organizations, the decree only amends—not radically transforms—current
laws against abuse and does not necessarily criminalize sexual harassment,
referring such cases as “indecent assault.”
According to the
recently released report, “Egypt: Keeping Women Out - Sexual Violence Against Women in the Public Sphere,”
authored by several Egyptian women’s organization, over 250 cases ranging from
sexual harassment to gang-rape in public spaces took place between November
2012 and January 2014. None of the
reported attacks have been brought to justice.
In response to the endemic sexual
violence, Egyptian women artists, activists and feminists are using all artistic
mediums and political platforms to raise national and international awareness
and support. The latest to join the army
of women against sexual violence is 19-year old Mayam
Mahmoud, Egypt’s first veiled rapper, who gained recognition after performing
on “Arabs Got Talent” last October.
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| Mayam Mahmoud, Egypt's "first veiled rapper" addresses sexual violence against women in her songs |
And despite receiving
death and rape threats, Mahmoud, who raps exclusively in Arabic to better
communicate with Egyptian youth, continues to perform, asserting in the
interview with the Global Post, “Egyptian women experience sexual abuse on a
daily basis,” she said. “It’s our story to tell, nobody else can tell it
because it’s our pain.”
With young women
like Mayan Mahmoud taking the helm against sexual violence, it’s a sign that
the violent hell encircling women are crumbling at the edges.
