16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women! (November 25 December 10 2014)
Egypt: End sexual violence and discrimination against women!
Egypt’s political leaders must condemn sexual violence and discrimination and commit to implementing a comprehensive strategy to combat sexual violence and discrimination!
Egypt’s new president has pledged to stop violence against women. So why are the authorities harassing the women human rights heroes protesting against repression?
Today, women in Egypt face an epidemic of violence and discrimination. In a survey carried out by UN Women and the Ministry of Health, over 99% of women said they had faced sexual harassment and 47% some form of domestic violence. Discriminatory laws force married women to obey their husbands in return for maintenance and trap them in abusive marriages because they struggle to get divorced without giving up their spousal maintenance and their dowry.
The security forces and justice system do not take violence against women seriously. One survivor of domestic violence interviewed by Amnesty International said: “The police don’t care, they don’t think it is a problem if a husband beats his wife.”
Women are also sidelined in public life. There are only a handful of women in the government and institutions like the judiciary and security forces. Official statistics show that women make up just 11% of higher managers in government and few women are ministers or deputy ministers. There are no official figures for the number of women serving in the security forces, and just an estimated 42 women judges out of approximately 12,000 judges.
So far, the authorities’ response to violence against women has been piecemeal. In June 2014, the outgoing president passed a new decree to combat sexual harassment. However, Amnesty International is concerned that the definition of sexual harassment under the law is limited to acts committed with the intention of “receiving sexual gratification from the victim” (Articles 306 (bis A, B) of the amended Penal Code).
Men were flouting the law within days, with mobs attacking and sexually assaulting women demonstrators around Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, even as Abdel Fattah alSisi took office as Egypt’s new president. Such attacks have continued for years, unchecked by the security forces.
President Abdel Fattah alSisi pledged that his government would stamp out violence against women. State media announced that the authorities would put more police on the streets, ensure state hospitals cared for survivors of sexual violence and include violence against women in the school curriculum. However there has been little new information about the plans in the months after the president’s inauguration.
Instead, the authorities have been cracking down on their critics, jailing women for protesting peacefully. They include women like human rights defender Yara Sallam and activist Sanaa Ahmed Sif, caught in a police dragnet following a peaceful protest, and lawyer Maheinour ElMassry, released in late September after serving four months in prison for taking part in a demonstration.
Egypt must not pledge to stop violence against women and then lock up leading women’s rights activists for peacefully expressing their opinion. We need your help to call on the president to free Egypt’s women heroes, and to end violence and discrimination once and for all.
Take Action Now!
Write to Egypt’s president, calling on him to end violence and discrimination against women and free prisoners of conscience. Click here to take action online, then write a letter directly to the president and mail it today! A sample letter:
Your Excellency,
I urge you to take steps to end violence and discrimination against women in Egypt once and for all.
I call on you to:
● Amend the law to ensure that all provisions on violence against women and girls, including marital rape and other forms of domestic violence, are in line with international human rights standards. Clear instructions must be given to law enforcement and judicial officials to diligently investigate violence and harassment against women and girls.
● End the judicial harassment of women human rights defenders for peacefully exercising their human rights.
● In consultation with experts including women’s and human rights defenders, lawyers, doctors, psychologists, and educators; devise and implement a strategy to stamp out all forms of violence against women, including a public awareness raising campaign to combat discrimination, sexual and genderbased violence and gender stereotyping.
● Repeal all legislation and end practices that discriminate on the grounds of sex or gender and especially amend discriminatory provisions in all personal status laws, in line with Egypt’s obligations under the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women
I look forward to your prompt and constructive action.
Send copies to:
Abdel Fattah alSisi President Office of the President Al Ittihadia Palace Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt
Fax: +202 2 391 1441 Email: [email protected]
Send copies to:
Ambassador Mervat Tellawi President of the National Council for Women The National Council for Women 15 Mohamed Hafez St. Off Ahrar or Thawra Street – Dokki
Spread the word on social media! Keep to one hashtag for consistency of messaging and to give tweets more chance of trending.
● End discrimination and violence against women #Egyptswomenheroes
● I stand with #Egyptswomenheroes
● Release #Egyptswomenheroes
Questions? Please email us at [email protected]!
Published by Amnesty International USA’s Women’s Human Rights Coordination Group Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AIUSAWomensHumanRightsNetwork Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmnestyWomenRts