At least 91 women raped in Tahrir Square – HRW

Human Rights Watch says there is an “epidemic” of violence against women in Egypt with mobs assaulting and raping at least 91 women during the demonstrations in Tahrir Square in Cairo. The Egyptian group Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment/Assault and the women’s rights group Nazra for Feminist Studies confirm 51 of these attacks. The website also posted a video of the women who have been attacked sexually. A 30-year-old victim featured in the video said 15 men attacked her and ripped her clothes. The number of her attackers increased to 100 in the process. “At the height of the attack,” she recalled, “I looked up and saw 30 individuals on a fence. All of them had smiling faces, and they were recording me with their cellphones.” HRW Middle East’s Joe Stork says the “horrific levels of sexual violence” are “holding women back from participating fully in the public life.” He says “Impunity for sexual violence against women in the public sphere in Egypt is the norm.” Stork said Egyptian women rarely report the attacks because “they have no reason to believe that there will be a serious investigation.”

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