Cairo - Rawda Fouad
A group of Egyptian youth
A group of Egyptian youth activists have launched a Facebook campaign calling for fellow protesters to form human chains in the streets to demonstrate against sexual harassment.
The campaign
titled \"Nefsy\" (I hope), is intended to \"support women\'s rights to walk in the streets safely\", as mentioned on the campaign\'s web page.
\"Sexual harassment has been an issue that threatens us on a daily basis. Through this campaign we aim to make our voices heard by the people walking or driving in the streets in several governorates and districts. The main objective is to raise people\'s awareness about the harm caused by sexual harassment and the necessity to prevent it,\" said Mona Ezzat, who participated in the first chain held on Wednesday May 16 in Cairo\'s Gameat el-Dowal Street.
\"The chain was very successful, and the people\'s reaction was positive too, this encourages us to continue,\" added Mona.
Hala Mansour, another activist, said: \"It is a very good initiative, and very important too, because sexual harassment has been a dangerous trend in Egypt that must be addressed.\"
The participants held signs saying: \"I want to walk in the street without hearing words that hurt me,\" and “I would like to ride a bike without getting harassed”.
\"This is a new thing for us. We can see how actions like this can create change,\" a male protester said.