Harassment on Cairo bus revives debate over women’s rights in Egypt
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A protester holds a placard reading "The uprising of women in the Arab world" during a demonstration against sexual harassment in Cairo on Feb. 12, 2013. — KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images
An Egyptian woman who said she was harassed in public earlier this week is facing a wave of online backlash including death threats, reflecting entrenched misogyny in Egypt, where sexual harassment and violence against women remain widespread despite legal reforms.
Mariam Shawky, a theater actress, shared a video on Sunday evening that has since gone viral of herself confronting a man on a crowded public bus in Cairo for allegedly stalking her and harassing her verbally and physically.
فتاة مصرية تُدعى مريم شوقي تشارك تجربتها عبر فيسبوك، حيث قالت أنها تعرضت لحادثة تحر.ش داخل وسيلة نقل عام، ولاقت الموقف صمتاً من بعض المحيطين. pic.twitter.com/b5Qial7FGg
— Ahmed ElNaggar - أحمد النجار (@ahmed_nagar25) February 9, 2026
In the video, Shawky screams at the man to look at the camera, calling him a “harasser,” a “thief” and “trash.” The footage cuts abruptly as he moves toward her and appears to try to grab the phone. Subsequent clips show Shawky continuing to film as the confrontation escalates, with the man hurling insults such as “trash” and “unreligious” and bystanders telling her to shut up and sit down as another passenger briefly restrains him.
"إيه اللبس اللي لابساه ده يا قليلة الأدب…".
هكذا ردّ متحرش في مصر مبرّراً تحرّشه، في مقطع فيديو وثّقته ونشرته ممثلة تُدعى مريم شوقي، قائلةً إنها تعرّضت للتحرّش ومحاولة سرقة، في أثناء توجهها إلى عملها، وإنّ الشخص المتحرّش الذي قامت بتصويره لاحقها مرات عدة pic.twitter.com/qGRKGLhtc9
In another video she posted on TikTok, Shawky claimed that the man on the bus had been following her for nearly a week. On the day of the bus incident, she said that he was waiting outside her workplace and boarded the same bus.
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