Source: Bikya Masr
Egyptian women are planning to take to Cairo's central Tahrir Square on Friday afternoon to protest against the rising sexual violence in the country.

Women demonstrate against sexual harassment in Tahrir Square.

The group, announcing the event on Facebook, has called on both men and women to join forces to demonstrate against violence directed toward women in the iconic square under the theme "Safe Tahrir for Women."

It comes after last month saw dozens of violent attacks against women in Tahrir, none worse than the one against British journalist Natasha Smith, who was stripped and assaulted while covering the celebrations on a nearby street following the announcement of President Mohamed Morsi's victory on June 24.

"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 group then went on to argue that the attacks against women are state-sponsored.

"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," it continued.

The demonstration is to take place on Friday at 1:30 PM in Tahrir Square. 

• Egypt