Veiled Egyptian woman kidnapped, gang-raped

Egyptian women continue to struggle with the daily sexual violence against them.

CAIRO: In a new indication that sexual violence is not restricted to how one dresses in Egypt, a fully-veiled woman was kidnapped and gang-raped for an entire day in Giza. Police arrested five men and have charged them with kidnapping, rape and robbery.

Investigators are looking for another three suspects allegedly involved in the crime.

The woman, 33, unidentified by local reports, was kidnapped from the neighborhood of Imbaba by a Toktok driver, a small one-man motorbike vehicle that has linked to many crimes in the area, including many thefts.

The Giza governorate has pushed efforts to regulate the transportation means, but has failed many times, including only the day before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

The woman was reportedly out buying groceries before three men dragged her into the vehicle, covered her eyes and took her to an unknown apartment. The three called five other friends and they all took turns raping her for a full day, according to the woman’s testimonies.

The five who have been arrested have confessed to police and told them about the others who were involved in the crime. One of the arrested men had been released from prison three-months earlier, also kidnapping and raping a woman in the neighborhood of Haram, also in Giza.

The woman also said that they stole a sum of 3,000 Egyptian pounds she was using to buy Ramadan groceries.

Internationally Cairo is know for its safety, but growing and daily sexual harassment and assaults have left many questioning the city’s status.

According to a 2008 study published by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) 60 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women are harassed on a daily basis. The ECWR warned that harassing foreign women would lead to the loss of millions of pounds. A number of foreigners said they would never return to Egypt. 14 percent of all foreign women said they would either never return to Egypt or tell their friends not to visit.

With violence against women on the rise, many wonder if the authorities will do anything to impede these crimes.

“The man was in jail before for kidnap and rape, yet he was let go and he did it again?” asked Mona Hassan, a 28-year-old researcher in Cairo. She then asked the question that is certain to be on many women’s minds in the near future: “What will they do now with these men? We need harsh laws that ensure a woman’s right to walk on the street. It is unacceptable what is happening to Egypt and its women.”

BM