Over the last two months, there’s been a seismic shift in the way Egyptians talk about sex, namely how it’s weaponized against women. In the past, incidents of sexual violence in Egypt would go unreported; the victims who did come forward were typically blamed or encouraged to let it go because of the humiliation its disclosure would cause the accused’s family or their own. But that started to shift abruptly this summer.
In late June, an anonymous Instagram account called @assaultpolice began collecting testimonies about and screenshots of conversations with a 22-year-old college student named Ahmed Bassam Zaki. Those chats swiftly landed him in jail, charged with harassing, blackmailing, and sexually assaulting a number of women, one of which was a minor at the time. At the same time, the Assault Police account was receiving information about the alleged Fairmont rapists, so it encouraged anybody who had the video to get in touch.
In both the Zaki and Fairmont cases, the accused come from rich and well-connected families, the kind that in Egypt are perceived as untouchable. While Egypt’s constitution stipulates that all citizens are equal under the law, a culture of bribery and nepotism prevails. Life is ruled by “wasta,” the Arabic word for “connections.” Despite a handful of anti-corruption laws, well-heeled elites are allowed to act with impunity, often without legal consequences.
“Classism is the master category in which Egyptian society is structured, just like racism is the master character category for the United States,” said Sahar Aziz, professor of law and Middle East legal studies scholar at Rutgers University.
— Read the full article published on September 1, 2020 on Vice here.
