Power Politics and Sexual Harassment in Downtown Cairo
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American University in Cairo AUC Knowledge Fountain Theses and Dissertations 6-1-2014 Power politics and sexual harassment in Downtown Cairo Cally Walker Follow this and additional works at: https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds Recommended Citation APA Citation Walker, C. (2014).Power politics and sexual harassment in Downtown Cairo [Master’s thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain. https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1031 MLA Citation Walker, Cally. Power politics and sexual harassment in Downtown Cairo. 2014. American University in Cairo, Master's thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain. https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1031 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by AUC Knowledge Fountain. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of AUC Knowledge Fountain. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The American University in Cairo School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) Power Politics and Sexual Harassment in Downtown Cairo A Thesis submitted to the Middle East Studies Center In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (M.A.) in Middle East Studies by Cally Walker under the supervision of Dr. Martina Rieker May 2014 The American University in Cairo i School of Global Affairs and Public Policy ‘’Power Politics and Sexual Harassment in Downtown Cairo” A thesis submitted by Cally Walker to the Middle East Studies Center May 2014 In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Middle East Studies has been approved by: Dr. Martina Rieker Thesis Adviser _________________________________________________ Affiliation _________________________________________________ Dr. Helen Rizzo Thesis Second Reader _________________________________________________ Affiliation _________________________________________________ Dr. Mona Abaza Thesis Third Reader _________________________________________________ Affiliation _________________________________________________ Dr. Sherene Seikaly Department Chair _____________________________ Date: ____________ Dr. Laila elBaradei Acting Dean of GAPP _____________________________ Date: ____________ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to give my upmost thanks to my advisor Dr Martina Rieker who has guided this process and helped me enormously, the class and coursework from Theorizing Gender has formed the basis for the questions in this thesis. I would also like to thank my other readers Dr Helen Rizzo and Dr Mona Abaza for their time and academic instruction that has also shaped this project, Dr Sherene Seikaly and Dr Sandrine Gamblin for their support and advice also. Many thanks to the work and friendship of the whole Middle East Studies Centre students and employees 2012- 2014 especially Kristen BelleIsle, Owain Lawson, Jade Lansing and Claire Forster who formed the basis of an excellent academic and personal committee. This work could not have been completed without the generosity of the University’s International Graduate Fellowship that I benefited from tremendously. iii ABSTRACT Power Politics and Sexual Harassment in Downtown Cairo Cally Walker The American University in Cairo under the supervision of Dr Martina Rieker This thesis explores how the meaning and experience of space contributes to our understanding of sexual harassment in downtown Cairo. I argue that we cannot understand relationships on the street without acknowledging the various affective discourses concerning space. Experiences of the everyday social, political and economic affect men and women differently, and constitute visible contextual and temporal sites of tension. I argue that the development-esque term of sexual harassment envelopes a wide range of practices that depend entirely on the moment and context of utterance. According to a 2013 United Nations report on Egypt, 48.9% of women believe that harassment has increased since the January 2011 uprising that called for political freedom and social justice. During 2011-2014, a number of violent political events have taken place in and around downtown Cairo that are significant for the area and for the nation at large. These events affect people’s perceptions of the area depending on the individual’s class, gender, age or political persuasion among other variables. I explore how this particular social, economic and political moment and location affect the interactions between individuals in public. This research suggests that a microanalysis of movement in the street reflects wider social anxieties about social change and politics of power both domestically and internationally. Aside from political events other (although not unrelated) social and economic shifts took place in the flux between local and global. I explore how people make room for each other on the streets amidst conflicts that the neo-liberal city presents. Understanding how people view space and interact with one another reveals negotiations and tensions that are an important conversation for understanding sexual harassment. iv © Copyright by Cally Walker 2014 All Rights Reserved v TABLE OF CONTENTS Title ..................................................................................................................... i Thesis Submission Information .......................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ iii Abstract ............................................................................................................... iv Copyright ..............................................................................................................v Chapter One: Introducing Downtown Cairo ...................................................... 1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 Literature Review ..................................................................................................4 Downtown Cairo: Power and Control in Urban Space ........................................10 Downtown Cairo: Hosting Politics and Violence.................................................12 Downtown Cairo: Socio-economic Change .........................................................13 Class in Urban Cairo.............................................................................................15 Gender & Class: The right to the city? ................................................................16 Theorizing Harassment..........................................................................................18 Theorizing Bodies.................................................................................................20 Understanding the Overlooked: Attention to Detail in Urban Space....................23 Methodology .........................................................................................................25 Chapter Outline .....................................................................................................27 Chapter Two: Negotiating Political Relationships ..............................................29 Introduction ...........................................................................................................29 Restrictions of Space, Bodies and Meaning..........................................................33 Transport Links .........................................................................................33 Walls .........................................................................................................38 Curfew .......................................................................................................42 Military Territory and Everyday Life ....................................................................44 Symbolism of Downtown’s Mohammed Mahmoud Street.....................................47 Gendered Violence.................................................................................................50 Struggle for Legitimacy .........................................................................................53 A Generation Game ...............................................................................................55 vi Conclusion .............................................................................................................57 Chapter Three: Gendered Interactions - Social Change in the Everyday.............59 Neo-liberal city: Urban Change and Class (re) configurations................................59 Talaat Harb Street: Contested Space?.....................................................................66 Leisure Practices of Downtown..............................................................................69 Feeling at Home: Satellite Cities versus Downtown..............................................76 At Home......................................................................................................76 The Deterioration of Downtown? ..............................................................78 Flight from the Centre.................................................................................83 Gendered and Classed Communication..................................................................89 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................94 Chapter Four: Walking in the Street - Negotiating the Everyday ........................96