Social Media: Tools of Protest and Repression for Women in Egypt

04/05/2024

Written by Guillaume Morel

Translated by Lou Szabo

In 2011, Egypt experienced a popular revolution largely organized on social media platforms^[1]Chebib, N. K., & Sohail, R. M. (2011). The reasons social media contributed to the 2011 Egyptian revolution. International journal of business research and management (IJBRM), 2(3), 139-162.. These media, whose journalistic and informational use began in 2009^[2]Murthy, D. (2018). Twitter. Cambridge: Polity Press., were then seen as tools for freedom of expression and organization of this popular movement. Egyptian women participated in street protests and on social media, also voicing their own demands. Dr. Sahar Khamis, an expert on Arab media, stated that these “prolific political activities online and offline by Arab women in recent months have opened a new chapter in the history of Arab feminism”^[3]Newsom, V. A., & Lengel, L. (2012). Arab women, social media, and the Arab spring: Applying the framework of digital reflexivity to analyze gender and online activism. Journal of International … Continue reading. 

However, the Arab Spring, which found its “physical” expression in the streets of Cairo, led to acts of sexual violence against women, often ordered by public authorities^[4]Egypt : Prosecute Sexual Assaults on Protesters | Human Rights Watch, disponible à l’adresse https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/22/egypt-prosecute-sexual-assaults-protesters. The Gender in Geopolitics Institute has published a series of two articles on State violence against women in Egyptian prisons^[5]Frada, R. (2023, décembre 13). State Violence Against Women in Egypt’s Prisons : Gendering Bodies and Space 1/2. Institut Du Genre En Géopolitique, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. The physical protest space is both a place of freedom and danger, as women had to organize for their own security during these events^[6]Galan, S. (2016). Beyond the Logic of State Protection : Feminist Self-Defense in Cairo after the January 25 Revolution. Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research, 2, 71. … Continue reading. In a 2009 report, The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights stated that 83% of Egyptian women had experienced sexual harassment in their country^[7]Sexual Harassment in the Arab Region. (2015, novembre 19). UNFPA Arabstates, disponible à l’adresse https://arabstates.unfpa.org/en/publications/sexual-harassment-arab-region. In a 2013 study^[8]United Nations Foundation sur X, disponible à l’adresse https://twitter.com/unfoundation/status/382588827556409344, the UN found that 99.6% of Egyptian women reported having been victims of harassment^[9]Gender-based violence. (s. d.). UNFPA Egypt, disponible à https://egypt.unfpa.org/en/node/22540. Human Rights Watch even described an epidemic of sexual violence in Egypt during the post-revolutionary period^[10]Égypte : Épidémie de violence sexuelle. (2013, 3 juillet). Human Rights Watch. Disponible à l’adresse https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2013/07/03/egypte-epidemie-de-violence-sexuelle. 

Social media then became a secure space for feminist expression, both within and outside the protests that swept the country from 2011 to 2013, when President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power. Online feminist movements emerged, offering a space for freedom of expression and denunciation.

As Egyptians mastered the use of these networks, state surveillance also increased. The monitoring of traditional media was no longer sufficient in a world where virtual activities influenced reality. Thus, the transition of these struggles to social media led to the repression of users and content creators. To what extent do social media platforms constitute both a space for feminist struggle and a danger for its users in Egypt?

Impossible Feminist Expression in the Streets of Egypt

The 2011 Revolution against President Hosni Mubarak’s regime brought people to the streets. This popular event was also the scene of numerous assaults against women, particularly in Tahrir Square, the central point of this historical event. The most commented case in the West is that of South African journalist Lara Logan, a CBS correspondent, who was sexually assaulted on February 11, 2011, in Tahrir Square by several men during a television report. Participating in the protests also posed a risk for Egyptian women, who tried to organize in the streets to ensure their own protection.

On the 8^th of March 2011^[11]Bohn, L. E. (2011, mars 11). What Happened on March 8 in Tahrir Square. Ms. Magazine, disponible à l’adresse https://msmagazine.com/2011/03/10/what-happened-on-march-8-in-tahrir-square/, during International Women’s Day, hundreds of women gathered in Tahrir Square to demand the inclusion of their rights in Egypt’s new Constitution. Groups of organized men sexually assaulted the participants. The army also arrested demonstrators, and several reported torture and virginity tests during detention^[12]Egypt women protesters forced to take “virginity tests”. (2011, mars 24). BBC News, disponible à l’adresse https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12854391. 

Numerous videos of that day give a voice to the aggressors, who justified their actions against a supposedly “invalid” feminist movement with Western origins^[13]Bohn, L. E. (2011, mars 11). What Happened on March 8 in Tahrir Square. Ms. Magazine. , disponible à l’adresse https://msmagazine.com/2011/03/10/what-happened-on-march-8-in-tahrir-square/. One of the goals of these assaults was to delegitimize the activists’ demands by referring to traditional norms that view women as homemakers, calling on female protesters to leave the public space to fulfil their “duties as mothers and wives”^[14]Abu Amara, N. (2012). Le débat sur le harcèlement sexuel en Égypte : Une violence sociale et politique. Égypte/Monde arabe, 9, Article 9, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. In its report “Egypt: Keeping Women Out”, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) found that these violences were encouraged and even organized by political authorities to silence women’s voices^[15]Egypt. Keeping Women Out – Sexual violence against women in the public sphere. (2014, avril). Fédération Internationale pour les Droits Humains.. 

This political tactic has been historically observed since 1892 in Egypt. It has normalized the harassment of women and developed a culture of impunity for aggressors^[16]Fighting sexual violence in Egypt on social media: A visual essay on assault police, disponible à l’adresse https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2021.1991972. Amnesty International noted that complaints filed for these assaults were not followed by judicial proceedings^[17]Les femmes victimes d’agressions sexuelles en Égypte. (2013, février 1). Amnesty International, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading and that complainants faced pressure from the police or the aggressors to withdraw their complaints. Egyptian society and authorities tend to blame the victims, often attributing the assault to the woman’s behaviour or her clothing^[18]Fighting sexual violence in Egypt on social media: A visual essay on assault police, disponible à l’adresse https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2021.1991972. The street is a place of danger where protest becomes a legitimate cause for assault.

In this context, social media became a refuge for feminist expression. The principle of victim-blaming for behaviour or clothing is then inoperative^[19]Fighting sexual violence in Egypt on social media: A visual essay on assault police, disponible à l’adresse https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2021.1991972. Amnesty International had already warned of this unprecedented repression of freedom of expression in Egypt, which was turning the country into an open-air prison where any public protest became impossible^[20]Crackdown on freedom of expression turns Egypt into an open-air prison. (2018, septembre 20). Amnesty International, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. Social media was then the only possible place for revolt^[21]En Égypte, une révolution féministe 2.0 est en marche | Slate.fr, disponible à l’adresse https://www.slate.fr/story/205982/Égypte-revolution-feministe-reseaux-sociaux-viols-agressions-sexuelles. 

The Twitter account @Harassmap, created in December 2010, identified places of assault for women participating in protests. This account both alerted women to places to avoid during gatherings and gradually encouraged bystanders to intervene to prevent violence^[22]Fighting sexual violence in Egypt on social media: A visual essay on assault police, disponible à l’adresse https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2021.1991972. In 2012, NGOs such as “I Saw Harassment” and “Op Anti-Harassment Movement”^[23]Https://www.facebook.com/opantish, disponible à l’adresse https://www.facebook.com/opantish emerged and relied on social media to disseminate messages to the Egyptian public^[24]el Fekki, A. (2015, 16 juin). ‘I Saw Harassment’ gets positive response from male citizens in awareness campaign – Dailynewsegypt. Dailynewsegypt, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. Online campaigns to prevent and denounce sexual assaults in the streets were circulated. “I Saw Harassment” focused on messages aimed at shifting the guilt and shame onto the aggressor and published a quick guide for calling for help in case of assault. However, the impact on the general public was limited, with “I Saw Harassment” acknowledging that its impact on the male public was actually difficult to measure^[25]el Fekki, A. (2015, 16 juin). ‘I Saw Harassment’ gets positive response from male citizens in awareness campaign – Dailynewsegypt. Dailynewsegypt, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. Indeed, perpetrators remained largely unchallenged by the police or the judiciary system^[26]Fighting sexual violence in Egypt on social media: A visual essay on assault police, disponible à l’adresse https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2021.1991972. 

During the presidential election victory of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in June 2014, sexual assaults were again reported in public spaces where citizens celebrated the new president. Penal Code laws 306A and 306B against sexual harassment were then adopted by interim President Adly Mansour, two days before he handed over power to President al-Sisi. Based on these new laws, seven men were subsequently convicted for attempted rape, attempted murder, and torture, a first in the country^[27]Egypt’s Sexual Harassment Law: An Insufficient Measure to End Sexual Violence. (s. d.). Middle East Institute, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. The laws defined, for the first time, the offense of sexual harassment and the penalties for aggressors^[28]Fighting sexual violence in Egypt on social media: A visual essay on assault police, disponible à l’adresse https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2021.1991972. The National Council for Women, a public body responsible for protecting women’s rights and well-being, saw this as significant progress and praised the initiative. Other independent women’s rights organizations like Nazra for Feminist Studies and the Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture regretted that the laws did not incorporate amendments aimed at aligning Egyptian law with international standards^[29]Egypt’s Sexual Harassment Law: An Insufficient Measure to End Sexual Violence. (s. d.). Middle East Institute, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. 

Despite such a legislative reinforcement, these laws, which restrictively define cases of assault, are inadequate to cover all possible aggressions^[30]Egypt’s Sexual Harassment Law: An Insufficient Measure to End Sexual Violence. (s. d.). Middle East Institute, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. The Middle East Institute directly blamed police officers for “re-traumatizing women who file complaints of harassment or assault by asking suggestive questions, teasing them about the incident, and blaming them for what they were wearing or for being in the wrong place at the wrong time”^[31]Egypt’s Sexual Harassment Law: An Insufficient Measure to End Sexual Violence. (s. d.). Middle East Institute, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. In 2021, the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy lamented that in practice, both the police and the judiciary system still do not enforce these laws, notably refusing to take complaints from victims who already find it difficult to come forward. Unsensitive and untrained to handle these issues, they perpetuate a culture of impunity^[32]Sexual Harassment Laws in Egypt: Does Stricter Mean More Effective? (2021, décembre 14). The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. 

The Emergence of an Egyptian #MeToo in 2020

Although traditional press is tightly controlled by the authorities, Egyptians have access to major social networks^[33]Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok et Facebook. and can follow international news. Aware of the impact these media had in 2011, President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi passed a law in September 2018 authorizing close surveillance of social media accounts^[34]Égypte : Sissi promulgue une loi de surveillance des réseaux sociaux. (2018, septembre 2). France 24, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading, thus replicating the oversight exercised over traditional media. Every Egyptian’s speech act and writings were now likely to attract the attention of authorities more adept at using these platforms. The unifying power that these networks conferred on citizens during the Revolution was now the source of criminal liability.

In this context, the #MeToo movement, originating in the United States, saw significant growth from 2017, supported by celebrities like Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan, and gradually spread worldwide, finally resonating in Egypt in 2020. In July of that year, an Instagram account called Reportabz publicly exposed the actions of a man named Ahmed Bassam Zaki by publishing his photo. This account, later renamed Assault Police, was created by Nadeen Ashraf, then 22 years old, and encouraged victims of sexual assault to speak out. Over a hundred testimonies corroborated the accusations against Zaki, a member of the Egyptian bourgeoisie^[35]En Égypte, une révolution féministe 2.0 est en marche | Slate.fr, disponible à l’adresse https://www.slate.fr/story/205982/egypte-revolution-feministe-reseaux-sociaux-viols-agressions-sexuelles. Assault Police’s account allowed victims to report abuse while maintaining their anonymity through testimonies revealing sexual violence. It provided an opportunity for part of the population to publicly support the victims through this Instagram page.

Its modus operandi of “denunciation/consciousness-raising,” along with its media exposure, particularly internationally^[36]The 22-Year-Old Force Behind Egypt’s Growing #MeToo Movement—The New York Times, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading, protected the account from state censorship^[37]Salif, H., & el Boujjoufi, M. (2021). Gender, Language, and the Separation of Public and Private Space (p. 282).. The account served as a platform for reporting misconduct and sharing experiences while respecting the anonymity of victims. In an interview, Nadeen Ashraf explained that her early use of social media and awareness of societal issues, especially internationally, prompted her to create it^[38]Meet Assault Police’s Nadeen Ashraf : The Student Behind Egypt’s Anti-Harassment Revolution | Egyptian Streets. (2020, septembre 20), disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. Her generation is adept at using social media, understands international dynamics, and aims to voice their demands on platforms they are familiar with. The lack of direct involvement allowed the account creator to act with less social pressure. Assault Police later diversified its posts to highlight other forms of violence, such as marital rape, encouraging responses to intrafamily violence. The account gained over 300,000 followers and spurred other online movements against gender-based and sexual violence.

The liberation of speech and public support for victims provided an opportunity to reveal the situation of Egyptian women in society. Following this Instagram account, the “I have been harassed” campaign on August 19, 2020, featured a Facebook post^[39]Vidéo | Facebook, disponible à l’adresse https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2633445323652654, showing a hundred Egyptian women on camera, repeating these words to denounce such actions in their daily lives^[40]Salif, H., & el Boujjoufi, M. (2021). Gender, Language, and the Separation of Public and Private Space (p. 282).. This momentum shed light on another sexual violence case dating back to 2014, involving a series of rapes at the Fairmont Hotel in Cairo by several assailants from influential families^[41]Salif, H., & el Boujjoufi, M. (2021). Gender, Language, and the Separation of Public and Private Space (p. 282).. 

The denunciation by Assault Police and the hundred testimonies led to the arrest of Ahmed Bassam Zaki a week after the first post. In December 2020, Zaki was initially sentenced by the Economic Crimes Court to three years in prison for misuse of social media – due to online sexual harassment, threatening to reveal intimate photos to coerce sexual relations^[42]Ahmed Bassam Zaki Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison | Egyptian Streets. (s. d.). Consulté 22 janvier 2024, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading– but was later acquitted on this charge by the Court of Appeal^[43]Al-Youm, A.-M. (2022, septembre 13). Egypt court acquits Ahmed Bassam Zaki for misusing social sites. Egypt Independent, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. In April 2021, the Criminal Court sentenced him to eight years in prison for sexual assault and blackmail of three minors^[44]Ahmed Bassam Zaki Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Sexual Assault | Egyptian Streets. (2021, avril 11) , disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading, a judgment confirmed in August 2023 by the Egyptian Court of Cassation^[45]Egypt’s Court of Cassation Upholds Eight-Year Sentence in Ahmed Bassam Zaki Case | Egyptian Streets. (2023, août 18), disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. The impact was so significant that Al-Azhar University, a renowned conservative theological authority, supported the victims, stating that only the perpetrators were at fault, regardless of the victims’ behaviour or clothing^[46]Salif, H., & el Boujjoufi, M. (2021). Gender, Language, and the Separation of Public and Private Space (p. 282. The Fairmont case led to arrests within powerful Egyptian families but also raised questions about protecting victims from their assailants and the state.

Morality Laws Sanctioning These Feminist Movements: Cybersecurity Causing Insecurity

One of the difficulties for assault victims in Egypt is the lack of legal protection. The #MeToo movement allowed the denunciation of sexual violence in a Western society where sexual activity is largely accepted outside marriage. Support for the victims enabled the liberation of speech and the exposure of systemic violent behaviours. Influenced by Islamic law, Egyptian families expect women to present themselves as virgins at marriage^[47]Sexual Rights Database, disponible à l’adresse https://sexualrightsdatabase.org/countries/357/Egypt. Thus, reporting sexual violence outside marriage leads to investigation and infamy for the victims. They face judgmental scrutiny from their families, society, and public authorities, and receive pressure from assailants to withdraw their complaints^[48]Salif, H., & el Boujjoufi, M. (2021). Gender, Language, and the Separation of Public and Private Space (p. 282)., without being protected by the police or judiciary system.

Following the unifying movement initiated by Assault Police, the Egyptian Parliament passed a law in August 2020 that now preserves the anonymity of victims^[49]Egypt passes bill to give women anonymity in sexual abuse cases, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. This initiative was driven by both members of the Parliament and the National Council for Women^[50]Egypt : Parliament Approves Draft Law Concealing the Identity of Victims of Sexual Violence Crimes during the Pretrial Investigative Stage. (s. d.). [Web page]. Library of Congress, Washington, … Continue reading, which reported receiving over 400 complaints in five days following the media coverage of the Ahmed Bassem Zaki case^[51]Hendawi, H. (2020, juillet 9). Egypt moves to encourage women to report sexual crimes. The National, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. Ghada Ghaleeb, an Egyptian parliamentarian who encouraged the adoption of this law, believes it shows the government’s understanding that “women were increasingly reluctant to report sexual assault cases due to fear of social stigma”^[52]Foundation, T. R. (s. d.). Egypt approves law to protect women reporting sex abuse. news.trust.org, disponible à l’adresse https://news.trust.org/item/20200816164340-pspxh/ and hopes it will lead to more complaints for such offenses.

In practice, however, these encouragements to report violence have not yielded the expected results, given the society’s deep-rooted conservative values. Women who testified in the Fairmont case were themselves detained for four months. Human Rights Watch reports that during their detention, they allegedly underwent virginity tests, a common practice in Egyptian prisons^[53]Egypt : Gang Rape Witnesses Arrested, Smeared | Human Rights Watch. (2020, septembre 11), disponible à l’adresse https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/11/egypt-gang-rape-witnesses-arrested-smeared.

Upon their release, these witnesses were charged with misuse of social media and immorality. The inconsistency between encouraging the reporting of assaults and the treatment of victims makes it difficult to improve how cases of violence against women are handled. The violence inflicted by authorities and societal infamy eventually discourage victims from coming forward publicly, perpetuating the impunity of gender-based and sexual violence perpetrators.

Moreover, the freedom to denounce provided by social media^[54]Égypte. Il faut cesser de poursuivre en justice les défenseur·e·s des droits humains qui dénoncent les violences sexuelles. (2022, mars 12). Amnesty International, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading presents a danger for victims in the judicial handling of these cases. In 2020, a series of convictions directly targeted social media users for their content or positions on assault cases. The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy reports various convictions, including prison sentences: in August 2020, two young women were sentenced to two and three years in prison respectively for violating family principles and values following TikTok posts^[55]Egypt’s TikTok Crackdown and “Family Values”. (2020, août 13). The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. In June of the same year, a well-known belly dancer was sentenced to three years for violating moral values due to her posts related on various networks. In May 2020, an influencer reported to her online community that she had been raped. She was then arrested and detained for four months for inciting debauchery^[56]Égypte. Il faut cesser de poursuivre en justice les défenseur·e·s des droits humains qui dénoncent les violences sexuelles. (2022, mars 12). Amnesty International, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. 

These arrests are part of a broader campaign of repression against content creators who allegedly violate family values, based on cybersecurity laws. The moral values and perceived danger of these “evil” posts threaten societal values, resting convictions on expandable interpretations of the legal notion of morality.

Following the Assault Police movement, Amnesty International highlighted numerous cases of judicial harassment against victims or their supporters who express themselves on social media. The organization particularly denounced the prosecution in early 2022 against Rasha Azab, who displayed her support for the victims of a film director. She was accused of insult and defamation for her tweets condemning the authorities’ inaction^[57]Égypte. Il faut cesser de poursuivre en justice les défenseur·e·s des droits humains qui dénoncent les violences sexuelles. (2022, mars 12). Amnesty International, disponible à l’adresse … Continue reading. Thus, social media surveillance allows the conviction of citizens who criticize the lack of public authority response in now-public sexual violence cases.

In the current context, the margin for encouraging the liberation of speech in Egypt is particularly narrow. Reporting violence results in a morality and conduct investigation for the victim, as well as social ostracism. Furthermore, any form of protest potentially challenging public authority can lead to the author’s conviction. The model of indirect violence denunciations used by Assault Police has protected the Instagram account creator from reprisals, as well as the anonymized victims. This method provides a space for revelation, indignation, and discussion for society.

Recommendations

For this speech liberation to continue, it is essential that Egyptian NGOs encourage it. Women’s rights organizations offer hotlines for public support and assistance to victims of violence in distress. These efforts should now include measures addressing the popularity of social media among the population. These organizations can establish online platforms to share victims’ testimonies anonymously. The popularity of social networks and the liberation of speech about assault cases encourage expression for women in Egypt. The ability to publicly expose sexual violence cases promotes speech liberation and discussion, collecting assault narratives and communicating them to the Egyptian public.

These same organizations should also inform about the risks of social media use concerning the law and judicial matters. Therefore, a guide for social media use adapted to the national context should be produced and distributed to social media users. Social media access is unrestricted in Egypt, so Egyptian organizations or content creators residing abroad can educate the Egyptian population remotely about these dangers.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.

To cite this article: MOREL Guillaume (2024), translated by Lou Szabo, “Social Media: Tools of Protest and Repression for Women in Egypt”, Gender in Geopolitics Institute, https://igg-geo.org/en/2024/10/31/social-media-tools-of-protest-and-repression-for-women-in-egypt/