Yesterday, a video captured by Al Watan news agency went viral. In the video a woman, who is already screaming hysterically, is slapped by a policeman and then escorted rather violently, while being cursed and roughed up, out of the metro. The description of the video stated that the reason for the “fight” is that she had insisted that a man who had entered the women’s car to leave.
“According to the Deputy the woman wasn’t slapped. She was, however, fined 400LE.”
That night, on the TV show Hadrat Al Mowaten, airing on Al Assema channel, Minister of Interior’s Deputy for Media and PR called in and made a statement saying the woman was never slapped. He claims that what he was told is that the woman started arguing with the man who entered the women’s car. This led to a fight, which led to the manager of the station to intervene. According to the Deputy the woman wasn’t slapped. She was, however, fined 400LE.
“the Deputy is asking us to not believe our eyes, and believe his sources instead. The woman clearly gets slapped in the video, yet, the Deputy chooses to believe otherwise and wants us to do the same.
There are so many things wrong with this statement, we don’t know where to start. For one thing, the Deputy is asking us to not believe our eyes, and believe his sources instead. The woman clearly gets slapped in the video, yet, the Deputy chooses to believe otherwise and wants us to do the same. The second thing wrong with this statement, and really the elephant in this room of utter ridiculousness, is that the woman was fined for stopping the metro for two minutes! Not the man who broke the law and got into the women’s car, oh no, it was the woman who defended her rights. What kind of absurd country do we live in where a government official calls a TV show and admits that a woman who was defending her rights and trying to uphold the law was fined for it? How is this that much better than slapping her?
“According to her, men were riding in the women’s car and one of them verbally harassed another young lady.”
The young lady, Walaa Said, who was in the video also spoke to the press, Al Watan news agency released the engineer’s statement, where she told her side of the story. According to her, men were riding in the women’s car and one of them verbally harassed another young lady. This is when she and this young lady stopped the metro doors from closing and demanded that he leaves. So far, her story and that of the Deputy’s match, but the next part is where they start sounding a little different.
“Walaa also claims that she was asked to pay 2000LE as a fine for stopping the Metro.”
Walaa claims, as the video shows, that the policeman slapped her and forced her out of the metro. Walaa also claims that she was asked to pay 2000LE as a fine for stopping the Metro. She eventually only paid 400LE.
“the men who appeared in the video, doing absolutely nothing as they watched Walaa being slapped, sworn at and violently escorted out of the metro”
There are clearly many problems with this picture, but the most obvious one is the amount of apathy the incident was faced with. From the men who appeared in the video, doing absolutely nothing as they watched Walaa was being slapped, sworn at and violently escorted out of the metro, to the Deputy’s decision to believe that a woman wasn’t slapped when video footage clearly shows she was, and then his belief that it is okay to fine a woman who was only trying to defend her rights, and finally, to the Metro workers and officials who thought it was a good idea to fine her, escort her out and blame her instead of doing something to stop men from entering the women’s car and harassing the women there.
“Women’s cars in the metro were already our lazy response to sexual harassmentbut are we getting too lazy to even make sure it’s working?”
Women’s cars in the metro were already our lazy response to sexual harassment. If we don’t plan on stopping sexual harassment, we’ll just separate men and women, but are we getting too lazy to even make sure it’s working? Do we, as Egyptians, actually care that little?
Check out the video of the incident below
