Shame Less: A Protest Against Sexual Violence
On International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we present a moving and important photo essay
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Sexual violence is a global problem, but one that is particularly widespread in Egypt. According to a 2015 United Nations study, “virtually all Egyptian women have been victims,” with 99.3% of those surveyed saying that they had been sexually harassed in their lifetimes.
Lina Geoushy, a UK-based Egyptian photographer and visual artist, draws on those shocking stories in Shame Less: A Protest Against Sexual Violence. This collaborative photographic project combines striking manipulated portraits of women in Cairo with handwritten testimony detailing their own experiences. To mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, Hyphen is publishing a selection of images from this important work.
Public transport (main image above)
“I am now 64 years old. When I was at university, I used to live in a hostel. At the end of each week, I used to go to my grandparents’ house. One day, while I was coming back from my grandfather’s house to the hostel, I got into a bus full of people. One of the men on the bus started moving towards me and standing very close and stuck himself to me. I felt something abnormal was happening. I felt ashamed of what happened to me.”
A man with his daughter
“While I was in university, I was walking toward the train station with a friend, heading home in the afternoon. An old man who was walking his young daughter back from school bumped into me and grabbed my chest. Instead of supporting us, people in the street started saying, ‘Let him go — you are proving that you are not well-behaved’.”
In my marriage
“Intimate relationships are private and they should be based on mutual love and feelings. However, my ex-husband didn’t consider feelings and foreplay. I used to be sleeping and he would take off my clothes and get intimate as if he is raping me. I hated sexual and intimate relationships because I got hurt emotionally and physically. I used to tremble and get feverish from the psychological and emotional pressure. It was devoid of feelings and happened against my will.”
I want to live
“It is impossible to think that any woman living in Egypt will one day walk in the streets without being verbally or visually harassed. It is extremely difficult to believe that the places that were once safe are no longer possible for humans to safely live in; they seem more for animals and are a source of fear for women. Any woman living in Egypt is living a desperate and miserable life because basic human rights do not exist for her. I want to live.”
Street scene
“I was coming out of my car with my sister under our house, where there was a group of boys hanging around. My sister wasn’t veiled at the time. She had highlights in her hair and was wearing a dress. I was afraid that they would harass her. To my surprise, they started calling me names and making fun of my conservative clothes. They were very loud and clapping.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, the Survivors Trust runs a free, confidential helpline for UK residents on 08088 010 818 and hosts a comprehensive selection of links on its website.
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