Egyptian women molested in anti-harassment march

CAIRO— A mob of hundreds of men assaulted women marching in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to end sexual harassment in Egypt. Witnesses say male supporters trying to protect the march were overwhelmed by the mob. The women were groped and molested for several minutes before some escaped to a nearby building. From the ferocity of the assault, some of the victims said it appeared to have been an organized attempt to drive women out of demonstrations and trample on the pro-democracy protest movement. Some of the marchers had been carrying posters that said, “The people want to cut the hand of the sexual harasser,” and chanting. Reports of assaults on women in Tahrir, the epicentre of the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down last year, have been on the rise with a new round of protests over a variety of issues — mainly worries that presidential elections this month will secure the continued rule by elements of Mubarak’s regime.

Protesters and activists met Wednesday to organize a campaign to prevent sexual harassment in the square.

They recognize it is part of a bigger social problem that has largely gone unpunished in Egypt. But the phenomenon is trampling on their dream of creating in Tahrir a model of a state that respects civil liberties and civic responsibility.

No official numbers exist for attacks on women in the square but activists and protesters have reported a number of particularly violent assaults on women in the past week.