Israel Matzav

Celebrating Eid-al-Fitr, Egyptian style

Some 150 Egyptian men in Cairo 'celebrated' the end of Ramadan the same way they did last year: by sexually assaulting women in public.

The Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan was once again marred by sexual harassment in the streets of Cairo when Egyptian police arrested dozens of young men suspected of sexually assaulting women in the streets, according to a local newspaper.

The independent al-Masry al-Youm reported that 150 young men assaulted female passers-bys on Gamaat al-Duwal al-Arabiya street in the upper-class neighborhood of Mohandeseen. One woman’s clothes were ripped off her body and another had her veil torn, the newspaper reported.

Police arrested 38 suspects, between 15 and 22, and questioned three of the female victims.

One of the female victims, who wore the 'niqab' (an Islamic dress covering the body from head to toes, except for the eyes), said that a number of young men assaulted her and her friends.

"They tore our clothes and snatched the 'hijab' (veil) worn by one of us," she was quoted as saying, She added that there were many other groups of young men along the street.

Something is really wrong in that society. I suppose that if you treat women as chattels, that's what's likely to happen in 2008.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:50 PM