Egyptian women Cairo\'s Tahrir Square on Friday will see Egyptian women protesting against the rising sexual violence in the country. A page on Facebook, titled “Safe Tahrir for Women,” has called on both men and women to join forces to demonstrate against violence directed toward women in the iconic square under the theme.
“We want strong people to act as guards to protect women from thugs who have been abusing them in the square. We want to catch these criminals who are destroying the reputation of the revolution, expose and shame them, and bring them to justice,” the statement on the Facebook page read.
The campaign has been launched after dozens of violent attacks against women in Tahrir last month.
Reports of sexual abuse were rife during mass protests in the revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak last year.
Female protesters and journalists say the assaults are becoming commonplace in the Square, with groups of men attacking a women’s march against sexual harassment in an incident in June.
“We want to say, ‘Enough, No!’ to the terrible assaults against women which have been happening in Tahrir. We believe them to have been carried out by state-sponsored paid thugs: let’s catch them, and prove that the people of Tahrir are amongst the noblest in the world,” their statement added.