State Violence Against Women in Egypt’s Prisons: Gendering Bodies and Space 2/2

13.12.2023

Rosário Frada

The first article of this dossier has analysed Egypt’s legal obligations at international, regional and domestic level, and compared these with current state practice. It ended by analysing the inadequate conditions confronted by women in prisons and detention centres. This one will delve into the various mechanisms used for the sexual exploitation of female prisoners and the ways in which their rights are or must be upheld.

Importantly, as already highlighted in the previous paper, Egypt has only partially committed to gender equality through its international obligations, refraining from dedicating itself entirely to women’s right to non-discrimination. Combined with the state’s increased targeting of women who defy the status quo, the coercive control of women’s identity and bodily autonomy as a strategy to maintain a patriarchal structure has become clear

This article aims to understand how the bodies of female prisoners are implicated in the re-articulation of state power and how they are disciplined by the male gaze by considering the several forms of sexual and gender-based violence deployed in Egypt’s prisons. Afterwards, it seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the current accountability system, understand the ways in which detainees face stigma upon their release, and propose suggestions for women’s rights to be upheld in Egypt’s prison system.

Sexual Violence and Exploitation: The Modus Operandi in Women Prisons

The harrowing reality of sexual violence against women prisoners in Egypt emerges as a deeply entrenched and systematic issue in urgent need of response. Conducting research on 655 cases of sexual violence against detainees spaning between 2015 and 2022, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights and Freedom exposes a distressing pattern where sexual harassment and abuse are not isolated incidents but integral tools employed by authorities across police stations, prisons and detention centres^[1]Egypt prisons use “systemic sexual violence” against detainees, report finds. (2022, April 09). The New Arab. https://www.newarab.com/news/egypt-prisons-using-systemic-sexual-violence-detainees. Thereby, sexual violence becomes a method of physical coercion, a means to punish prisoners, and a mechanism to assert control over their bodies, clearly manifesting the power dynamics under a patriarchal regime. 

In 2021, testimonies from detained Egyptian women provided a chilling glimpse into the widespread harassment and assault perpetrated by police officers and state doctors^[2]El-Naggar, M., Al-Hlou, Y., & Aufrichtig, A. (2021, July 05). Stripped, Groped and Violated: Egyptian Women Describe Abuse by the State. New York Times. … Continue reading. Notably, the case of Malak Elkashif, a transgender woman arrested at the age of 19 for her activism, sheds light on the dehumanising experiences faced by detainees. Elkashif recounts being groped and subjected to invasive medical examinations aimed at determining the facility to which she would be confined to based on her gender identity^[3]El-Naggar, M., Al-Hlou, Y., & Aufrichtig, A. (2021, July 05). Stripped, Groped and Violated: Egyptian Women Describe Abuse by the State. New York Times. … Continue reading. This demonstrates the egregious violation of personal boundaries and the blatant disregard for her dignity by the very authorities who, despite being tasked with the role of protection, become perpetrators of sexual violence under the guise of “guardians of moral order^[4]Eleftheriou-Smith, L. (2915, May 19). Egypt: Rape and sexual violence perpetrated by security forces “surges” under el-Sisi’s regime in campaign to “eliminate public protest”. Independent. … Continue reading”. This form of torture, inflicted upon a detainee within the supposed confines of protection, illustrates a perverse inversion of authority as a strategy to instill fear, control dissent, and exert dominance over those deemed a threat to the established order. 

The Fédération Internationale pour les Droits Humains (FIDH) notes an increase in the intentional targeting of queer individuals; beyond facing arrests, they are subjected to a secondary form of victimisation characterised by rape and assault while in detention. This pattern of abuse, particularly against individuals who deviate from societal norms, underscores the deeply entrenched prejudices within the Egyptian system. This way, the intersectionality of activism, gender identity and sexual orientation exposes the multifaceted nature of systemic abuse, where queer people become victims of a broader campaign of oppression. 

Virginity Tests, Cavity Searches and Sex-Related Defamation

The violation of women’s rights extends to intrusive practices such as virginity tests before being placed in prison in attempts to strip women off their dignity^[5]Egypt: Military “virginity test” a sham. (2011, November 09). Ref World. https://www.refworld.org/docid/4ebcd9f83b8.html and blame them for their attacks by questioning their sexual behaviour^[6]Women and the fight for bodily integrity in Egypt. (2013, October 24). Middle East Institute. https://www.mei.edu/publications/women-fight-bodily-integrity-egypt. Despite international law explicitly condemning such practices as cruel, inhuman and torturous when coerced, the Egyptian regime persists in subjecting women to these degrading procedures^[7]Egyptian women protesters forced to take “virginity tests”. (2011, March 23). Amnesty International. … Continue reading. Conducted without informed consent, the tests strip women of their bodily integrity, privacy, dignity and equality before the law and amounts to sexual assault which cannot be justified, being based on an intrinsically discriminatory presumption that an examination of female virginity can be a legitimate interest of the state^[8]Egypt: Military “virginity test” a sham. (2011, November 09). Ref World. https://www.refworld.org/docid/4ebcd9f83b8.htm. The threat of sexual assault loom over political prisoners, who are threatened with prostitution by “the man in white coat^[9]“Virginity tests” for Egyptian woman protesters. (n.d.). Amnesty International https://www.amnestyusa.org/updates/virginity-tests-for-egyptian-women-protesters/” if found not to be virgins. Another woman who said she was a virgin but was judged to have failed the test was beaten and given electric shocks^[10]“Virginity tests” for Egyptian woman protesters. (n.d.). Amnesty International https://www.amnestyusa.org/updates/virginity-tests-for-egyptian-women-protesters/ and frequently, men are allowed to watch virginity testing and photograph it, placing women at further risk of harm if the photographs became made public^[11]Egyptian women protesters forced to take “virginity tests”. (2011, March 23). Amnesty International. … Continue reading. Evidently, efforts to control women do not only include strategies that make them fear prison authorities, but society as a whole, not only exposing them to physical violations but psychological trauma, which in turn renders them vulnerable, pursuing the regime’s ultimate goal of weakening and forcibly silencing women to avoid dissonance and maintain the status quo. This reveals the gendered nature of  silence and speech in Egypt, where the patriarchal regime perceives women’s vocal agency as a threat to its authority and reserves speech exclusively for men. 

Body searches are also pursued in a humiliating manner that fails to respect the physical integrity and privacy of women’s bodies. This can include vaginal cavity searches – in the absence of lawyers and families and in the presence of state authorities^[12]Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. (2014, November 19). Exposing state hypocrisy: Sexual violence by security forces in Egypt.  Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. … Continue reading – under the pretext that women may be hiding weapons, drugs or mobile phones, constituting a form of sexual violence practiced against female prisoners^[13]Violence has many prisons: a look at women’s experiences in prisons and detention centres in Egypt. (2017, January 11). Nazra. … Continue reading. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, body-cavity searches can only be required when there are reasonable causes to believe that a serious breach of security has occurred^[14]Reyes, H. (n.d.). Body searches. International Committee Red Cross. https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/body_searches_in_detention.pdf. As a highly intrusive procedure, it must be used as a last resort^[15]Reyes, H. (n.d.). Body searches. International Committee Red Cross. https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/body_searches_in_detention.pdf. Nevertheless, as posited by the Freedom Initiative, cavity searches are used as an opportunity by guards to carry out abuse, sexually harassing women throughout the lifecycle of detention in Egypt^[16]Egyptian Front for Human Rights & The Freedom Initiative. No one is safe: Sexual violence throughout the life cycle of detention in Egypt. (2022). The Freedom Initiative. … Continue reading. The misuse of these procedures points to a disturbing pattern where the regime exploits its power at every level of policing, justice and prison procedures.  

Since the military takeover in July 2013, the regime has resorted to defamatory practices against female political prisoners, using sexual content to destroy their reputations and portray them as sexual deviants, ultimately reinforcing societal biases^[17]Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. (2014, November 19). Exposing state hypocrisy: Sexual violence by security forces in Egypt.  Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. … Continue reading. For instance, women arrested in the anti-coup demonstrations have been accused of prostitution and videos have been stolen from their computers to serve as incriminating evidence^[18]Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. (2014, November 19). Exposing state hypocrisy: Sexual violence by security forces in Egypt.  Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. … Continue reading. According to a testimony published on the website Al Araby in July 2014 “A police officer with the rank of colonel did not record any of my statements in his report but asked me if I was a virgin, and said that the enquiry proved that I had been arrested in an apartment for prostitution^[19]Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. (2014, November 19). Exposing state hypocrisy: Sexual violence by security forces in Egypt.  Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. … Continue reading”. Through the weaponization of women’s fear of defamation, coupled with societal rejection^[20]Magda, S. (2023, April 19). Women in Egypt’s prisons: tales of oppression, abuse and human rights violations. The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. … Continue reading, these waves of aggression strengthen the message conveyed in Egyptian media: “Stay at home… What were these women doing out at a protest?^[21]Egypt torture: A systematic practice. (2012, October 01). Alkarama Foundation. https://www.alkarama.org/sites/default/files/2017-09/Art.%2020%20Followup%20Sept.%202012_Final_withAnnexes_EN_cav.pdf”. By disseminating a narrative that questions the legitimacy of women’s presence in the public sphere and regarding them as eternal minors in endless need of male protection, the regime perpetuates cycles of abuse and societal stigma, with the intersection of GBV, sexual exploitation and strategic defamation underscoring the multifaceted approach to the suppression of women’s voices and strengthening of patriarchal dominance. 

Subverting Democratic Life and Reconstituting Women’s Citizenship in Egypt

Virginity tests, sexual assaults, validating rape, sexual-related blackmailing, amongst other forms of GBV must be understood as violent measures targeting the female body designed to limit women’s political participation and subvert democratic life in the country. Therefore, women’s bodies have become highly implicated in the re-articulation of state power over space and political action, intervening within public spaces to reassemble the complex weave of political action, masculine politics, religious ideology and cultural and social norms^[22]Hafez, S. (2016, March 11). Egypt, Uprising and Gender Politics: Gendering Bodies/Gendering Space. Middle East Political Science. … Continue reading. This way, women’s citizenship is continuously being reconstituted through vociferous processes in the wake of a revolution and under the current militaristic regime.

In Egypt today, the female protester is constructed as the Other. Opposing blind obedience to the dominant government, she becomes perceived as a transgressive body: out of control and associated with lack of rationality and civilisation, becoming increasingly alienated, stigmatised and denigrated. Within the binary construct of civilised vs. transgressive that depicts the disciplined versus the undisciplined body lies a key strategy to control the non-masculine body. However, while women’s bodies are disciplined and regulated through discourses of patriarchy and state politics, their activist demonstrates that women also embody sites of dissent and revolution, being unregulated and unruly. 

Under a patriarchal regime, conjuring up strong imagery of virginity and family against the transgressive body of the female protester of unknown virtue and family, female bodies are to lose their integrity and women are to lose their corporeal autonomy as citizens of the state. Violence in Egypt’s prisons has become justified by framing the female body in denigrating terms that question its purity and piety. Piety and purity, therefore, are implied as prerequisites for women to access the public sphere. Yet, what happens when the female body embodies these qualities yet still participates politically? How does the state frame these bodies that challenge its power from within the very corporeal rubrics it claims as requirements for public presence? 

Impunity, Denial and Lack of Accountability

As part of the ICCPR and ACHPR, Egypt is obliged to protect women from cruel and inhuman treatment as well as discrimination^[23]Egypt: Military “virginity test” a sham. (2011, November 09). Ref World. https://www.refworld.org/docid/4ebcd9f83b8.htm. Nonetheless, in July 2014, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights claimed it was “deeply concerned by the high levels of sexual violence … perpetrated against arrested persons … as well as the culture of impunity which prevents victims especially women, from obtaining justice for acts of sexual harassment^[24]Resolution on Human Rights Abuses in Egypt – ACHPR/Res.287(EXT.OS/XVI)20. (2014, July 29). African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. https://achpr.au.int/index.php/en/node/719”. Thus, in 2014 it urged Egyptian authorities to ensure the perpetrators of sexual violence are brought to justice and to facilitate victims’ access to justice and reparation^[25]Resolution Condemning the Perpetrators of Sexual Assault and Violence in the Arab Republic of Egypt – ACHPR/Res.288(EXT.OS/XVI)201. (2014, July 29). African Commission on Human and People’s … Continue reading. While President El-Sisi’s government has announced that fighting against sexual violence is a priority, the fact that sexual violence is met with complete impunity towards perpetrators indicates the persistence of an approach aimed at limiting and marginalising the presence of women in the public  and arena^[26]Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. (2014, November 19). Exposing state hypocrisy: Sexual violence by security forces in Egypt.  Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. … Continue reading.

A former woman prisoner told Amnesty International that “If you have a problem, complain to God… If you complain in prison, the guards and the informants will only treat you worse^[27]Amnesty International (2015). “Circles of hell”: Domestic, public and state violence against women in Egypt. ReliefWeb. … Continue reading”. Significantly, no independent mechanism exists for incarcerated women to file complaints without fear of retaliation, and no monitoring is conducted by independent and impartial bodies, meaning there is no safeguard against torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, despite the UN’s Committee Against Torture reinforcing the need for Egypt to ensure mandatory independent inspections^[28]United Nations. (2003). Report of the Committee against Torture 29th session. United Nations. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/505454. Moreover, according to prison rules and regulations, prisoners can lodge complaints with the director of the prison, place their letters into “complaint boxes^[29]Amnesty International (2015). “Circles of hell”: Domestic, public and state violence against women in Egypt. ReliefWeb. … Continue reading” inside prison facilities or submit them by phone or fax. However, detainees claim to be unaware of these complaint mechanisms and too afraid of negative repercussions^[30]Amnesty International (2015). “Circles of hell”: Domestic, public and state violence against women in Egypt. ReliefWeb. … Continue reading. The unwillingness to establish effective mechanisms that safeguard women’s safety speaks to the prioritisation of social order over women’s human rights. Subsequently, after the trauma of sexual assault, women prisoners and detainees are still denied legal protection, with priorities remaining to cover up for the abuses committed by security authorities. 

Those who try and press charges face sex-based blackmailing or a wall of indifference to prevent them from filing complaints^[31]Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. (2014, November 19). Exposing state hypocrisy: Sexual violence by security forces in Egypt.  Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. … Continue reading. For instance, Samira Ibrahim received threatening anonymous calls after filing a formal sexual assault complaint^[32]Egypt: Military “virginity test” a sham. (2011, November 09). Ref World. https://www.refworld.org/docid/4ebcd9f83b8.htm. Concerningly, in 2014 President of the NCW Mervet al-Telawi claimed “It is impossible that a paramilitary organisation like the police would commit crimes of sexual violence in Egyptian prisons^[33]Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. (2014, November 19). Exposing state hypocrisy: Sexual violence by security forces in Egypt.  Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. … Continue reading”, publicly delegitimising the prevalence of sexual violence while sanitising the image of enforcement officers. Commenting on the case of a student who alleged she was raped in a van by a policeman on the 28th of December 2013 in front of her university, the deputy minister for human rights within the Ministry of the Interior, Major General Abu Bakr Abdel Karim, declared in the press that she was “irrational” and that her sole aim was to “turn public opinions against the police^[34]Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. (2014, November 19). Exposing state hypocrisy: Sexual violence by security forces in Egypt.  Fédération Internationale Pour Les Droits Humans. … Continue reading”, criticising the victim rather than condemining the violence. Leaving women detainees without space to access justice and claim their rights perpetuates the deployment of sexual violence to break the spirit of the female opposition^[35]Egypt: Impunity fuels sexual violence. (2013, February 06). Amnesty International https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2013/02/egypt-impunity-fuels-sexual-violence/. 

Women’s deprivation of social and economic rights further hinders their access to the justice system. Most women prisoners belong to the poorer and less educated classes, being unable to retain a lawyer or unaware of their legal rights. Quickly, they become dependent on male family members who control the financial resources^[36]Violence has many prisons: a look at women’s experiences in prisons and detention centres in Egypt. (2017, January 11). Nazra. … Continue reading, making clear that women without economic privileges suffer disproportionately in custody and highlighting a grave failure in the penal system^[37]Amnesty International (2015). “Circles of hell”: Domestic, public and state violence against women in Egypt. ReliefWeb. … Continue reading. This is particularly important since anecdotal evidence suggests that women from poor backgrounds are expected by the police to tolerate beatings by the norm^[38]Amnesty International (2015). “Circles of hell”: Domestic, public and state violence against women in Egypt. ReliefWeb. … Continue reading. 

Women at the Mercy of Discrimination Upon Release

Stigmatisation is felt by women prisoners both inside and outside prison in the public and private sphere. Even though women are sometimes imprisoned to protect their own families, the same families often disown them due to shame. Regularly, imprisonment also leads to divorce as families feel reluctant to shoulder the responsibilities imposed on them by a detainee^[39]Elhadidy, S. (2023, June 11). Harsh prison life pushes inmates’ wives to divorce husbands in despair. Middle East Eye. … Continue reading, driving family disintegration^[40]Marae, R. (2022, February 16). The social and economic cost of Egypt’s prison. Arab Reform Initiative. https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/the-social-and-economic-cost-of-egypts-prison-system/. The opposite takes place if the prisoner is a man, as custom prevails where “Prison Makes a Man^[41]Violence has many prisons: a look at women’s experiences in prisons and detention centres in Egypt. (2017, January 11). Nazra. … Continue reading” and women lack equal access to divorce^[42]Divorced from justice: Women’s unequal access to divorce in Egypt. (2004, November 30). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/report/2004/11/30/divorced-justice/womens-unequal-access-divorce-egypt. 

Importantly, prisoners’ families are also stigmatised by society, isolating families from their communities^[43]Marae, R. (2022, February 16). The social and economic cost of Egypt’s prison. Arab Reform Initiative. https://www.arab-reform.net/publication/the-social-and-economic-cost-of-egypts-prison-system/. In fact, while most women criminal prisoners belong to underprivileged social classes and rarely receive visits, their political counterparts often belong to the educated middle class and receive regular family, differentiating the stigma confronted by women according to socioeconomic class. It must also be noticed that female prisoners face self-alienation and self-exclusion upon release. The profound impact and painful journeys they endure in detention oblige them to carry traumatic scenes; their rehabilitation and social integration should take centre stage in Egypt’s criminal justice system as per international law^[44]Magdy. S. (2023, November 16). Women’s prisons in Egypt: Testimonies of cruelty behind concrete. The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. … Continue reading.

Campaigners posit poor women are especially vulnerable to stigma upon release from prison^[45]Female “prisoners of poverty” in Egypt face stigma. (2023, May 27). I24 News. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/north-africa/1685128871-female-prisoners-of-poverty-in-egypt-face-stigma. According to the US Global Alliance for Legal Aid, an estimated 20% of Egypt’s prison population are debtors, the majority of which are women^[46]The Caravan. (2017, December 13). Women in debt struggle to reintegrate into society as “victims of poverty”. The Caravan. https://www.auccaravan.com/?p=6719. These should not be perceived as criminals but as victims of poverty given the large gap between men and women in terms of labour market access and financial autonomy. Women who face jail for falling into debt face immense hardship when rebuilding their lives^[47]El-Din, M., & Saafan, F. (2023, May 25). Egypt’s female “prisoners of poverty” struggle with stigma. Reuters. … Continue reading; trapped by illiteracy^[48]The Caravan. (2017, December 13). Women in debt struggle to reintegrate into society as “victims of poverty”. The Caravan. https://www.auccaravan.com/?p=6719 and unemployment, women are obliged to enter a vicious cycle of debt, becoming “prisoners of poverty^[49]El-Din, M., & Saafan, F. (2023, May 25). Egypt’s female “prisoners of poverty” struggle with stigma. Reuters. … Continue reading” and being consequently jailed. This phenomenon not only highlights the economic hardships and pressures faced by women, but, considering that a third of Egyptian families are under the sole responsibility of the mother, and the vast majority of these women are unemployed, uneducated and receive no support from the state, it is important to understand that former female detainees jailed for debt become easy prey for greedy creditors^[50]El-Din, M., & Saafan, F. (2023, May 25). Egypt’s female “prisoners of poverty” struggle with stigma. Reuters. … Continue reading. 

Reforming the Legislative and Policy System to Attain Gender Justice

Working towards changing the body of discriminatory and non-protective provisions seems crucial under both Status Law and the Penal Code, which lead to the increased number of women facing imprisonment and being denied access to justice. In the Penal Code, several articles use deprivation of liberty as a penalty for minor crimes, as opposed to using non-custodial measures. However, Article 11 of the ICCPR should be considered, which states “No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a contractual obligation^[51]United Nations. (1996, December 16). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights”. 

It is thus urgent to release persons arrested on the grounds of their sexual orientation, drop all charges against them, and put an end to the harassment campaign against queer people. Amending laws to remove vague language that allows authorities to discriminatorily target women, such as “debauchery” is also essential, as well as publicising the national strategy to combat violence against women, which should include reforming the laws that criminalise violence against women to bring them in line with international law, revise the definition of rape, and end the practice of virginity tests. 

A committee that brings together representatives of the NCHR, state agencies responsible for the management of women’s prisons, the NCW, and civil society should also be established to monitor the extent to which Prison Regulations are implemented^[52]Amnesty International (2015). “Circles of hell”: Domestic, public and state violence against women in Egypt. ReliefWeb. … Continue reading. To ensure Egypt ceases all acts of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, this monitoring body must hold the power to undertake independent and impartial investigations into allegations of torture and other ill-teatment in accordance with international law and ensure victims receive reparations. To guarantee the improvement of detainees’ conditions, it should have the mandate to present binding recommendations to relevant bodies, unhindered access to information and ability to meet with detainees and other persons. 

Challenging the Gendered Ideology Behind the Police and Prison Administrations

Reconstructing gender relations requires reforming the gendered ideology underpinning police and prison administration. Treating women prisoners professionally, applying international human rights standards when arresting women suspects, respecting the privacy and integrity of their bodies and refraining from the use of violence seems crucial as a step to end violence towards women. This includes abolishing manual body searches and installing electronic scanners to detect contraband without establishing unnecessary contact, and conducting searches in places which protect the privacy and integrity of the human body. 

This requires the employment of female staff in women prisoners, who should be trained in accordance with international human rights and the specific needs of women, especially regarding medical care.  Importantly, policies to protect them from discrimination and sexual harassment while discharging their duties should be developed and implemented. This training requires comprehending the specific needs of women, especially regarding health and other medical and psychological care. Staff should also ensure women prisoners have access to Prison Regulations, both in writing and audible form, to ensure they are aware of their rights and can navigate throughout the justice system effectively. To ensure effective adherence to international human rights standards at every station, it seems important to establish supervisory committees under the Department for Combating Violence Against Women of the Ministry of the Interior, at every police station and directorate. 

Building Gender Equality Into the Fabric of Egypt’s Society and Institutions

Through collective efforts, public attitudes towards GBV may be altered and the visibility of women’s rights in the public sphere may be achieved. This means civil society should not be restricted form publicly condemning and shedding a light on all forms of sexual and GBV perpetrated by state and non-state actors to effectively prevent sexual violence and protect victims,including by ending impunity. For instance, Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment and Assault distributed fliers with hotline numbers people could call if they saw an attack^[53]Women and the fight for bodily integrity in Egypt. (2013, October 24). Middle East Institute. https://www.mei.edu/publications/women-fight-bodily-integrity-egypt. Whilst they received gendered and reactionary responses when they first started, they later gained significant media attention and individuals’ attitudes changed, demonstrating curiosity and availability to support (potential) victims of violence^[54]Women and the fight for bodily integrity in Egypt. (2013, October 24). Middle East Institute. https://www.mei.edu/publications/women-fight-bodily-integrity-egypt. This makes evident the potential of Egyptian society to move away from the idea of women as a threat to morality towards the modernisation of Egyptian women’s status.

Combating the state-imposed silence on issues regarding human rights must thus be done through a multistakeholder approach involving civil society, the media and the political body. Recognising the role of women in breaking the stigma around sexual violence is crucial. In late 2019, the tragic gang rape of the “Farshout girl” – as she is known in the media – brought renewed attention o sexual violence against women in Egypt, driving a new generation of feminist activists to emerge in attempts to catalyse change^[55]Zaki, H. (2021, March 98). How Egyptian women have broken the stigma around sexual violence. Progressive International. … Continue reading. After speaking about how she escaped from her attackers, and shedding light on the struggles she faced to access justice including being disowned by her own father for reversing traditional gendered roles, discussions on violence against women and human rights moved from the margins to the centre^[56]Zaki, H. (2021, March 98). How Egyptian women have broken the stigma around sexual violence. Progressive International. … Continue reading. The testimonials of women who bear witness to the systemic failure in dealing with crimes of sexual violence is more important than ever to raise awareness and mobilize action. The rise of interactive social media platforms in a patriarchal class society is crucial in reviving the heated debates on women’s rights, gendered spaces and the role of the state in the public sphere. 

To quote this article : Rosário Frada. (2023). State Violence Against Women in Egypt’s Prisons: Gendering Bodies and Space 2/2. Institut du Genre en Géopolitique. https://igg-geo.org/state-violence-against-women-in-egypts-prisons-gendering-bodies-and-space-2-2/

The statements in this article are the sole responsibility of the author. 

To read the first article of this dossier: https://igg-geo.org/en/state-violence-against-women-in-egypts-prisons-gendering-bodies-and-space-1-2