Source: Aswat Masriya
An Egyptian woman, who took her harasser to court in April after he physically attacked her for standing up for herself, now awaits his trial which is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Lyla El-Gueretly, 30, was walking on 'October 6' bridge when a bearded man on a bus started cat calling her, she told Aswat Masriya.

When she ignored him, Gueretly said, he started mimicking obscene gestures, which only stopped when she said to him, "Shame on your beard."

"He started shouting and calling me names," she said, adding that when she decided to stop and confront him for his profanity, he jumped off the bus and attacked her.

Gueretly, who is a politically active teacher, said that she learned later that people thought he was her husband, judging by how confident he seemed while beating her.

Only when she started screaming "harasser!" did a crowd gather around them and beat him, before helping her to take him to a police station.

Gueretly, who sustained minor injuries due to the attack, also managed to convince a few witnesses to accompany her to the prosecutor to testify.

When the prosecutor saw the victim's photograph on her identification card and found out she used to wear the headscarf, he made inappropriate comments, suggesting she may have encouraged the harassment, she told AM.

The aggressor, who was released but will stand trial on June 19, may be sentenced to three to seven years in prison for defaming and attacking Gueretly, the prosecutor told her.

"I was so adamant to get him. I finally managed to capture one," she said, explaining that it was her first time to press charges against a harasser.

Sexual harassment is a serious issue facing Egyptian women of all age groups and backgrounds, with only a few victims to date taking legal action.

 

• Egypt