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What is Egyptian Initiatives?

Egyptian Initiatives is an independent, non-political, non-religious, and non-profit online awareness platform aiming for selecting and highlighting all the valuable initiatives within the Egyptian Society that contribute to making Egypt a better place. We believe in the power of the Egyptian people, independent of the government, independent of any political or religious groups, and independent of any constrains. We believe that we together, as Egyptians, can actively contribute on daily basis to making our society, our lives, and the lives of others continuously better.

The Egyptian society is facing serious problems such as poverty, hunger and polution among many others. We believe that with proper awareness and the contribution and the active participation of the people, we can actively find solutions to such problems, and this is where this platform comes to play an important role. Egyptianinitiatives.com will act as an awareness and communication channel promoting different important initiatives/organizations under one roof, capitalizing on the power of the internet and social media as a medium, to encourage active participation and also to foster the birth of new valuable initiatives. In the future we plan on providing this platform as a collaboration platform between the different initiatives, organizations, individuals, and corporate sponsors to plan and organize nation-wide projects tackling problems on a massive scale, providing a sort of non-governmental social security/solidarity (تكافل اجتماعي).

For detailed information please click here: http://www.egyptianinitiatives.com/blog/2010/02/the-concept/

Stop Sexual Harassment in Egypt

Stop Sexual Harassment in EgyptA group against Sexual Harassment in Egypt! If we can stop it in Egypt we can definitely stop it ANYWHERE! Please contribute with your Ideas, Personal Stories, experiences and anything that you think could bring about change..it really is about time we take some action..the more we ignore this problem the more it manifests! This group will also try to provide you with all the necessary information you need to know about the situation in Egypt as per the Egyptian Center for Women Rights (ECWR) and messages will be sent as to how you can help and events of the campaign against sexual harassment in Egypt.

Join this group if:

  • you stopped having walks in the street because you're sick of:
    • walking and staring in the ground so as not to make any eye contact with any guy and send him the wrong message that u are a *****.
    • hearing comments on ur weight, hair, clothes, etc
    • hearing explicit sexual fantasies of sleeze balls on the street.
    • getting grabbed or felt up by horny bastards.
    • seeing "stuff" or being offerred the "stuff"
  • you usually carry around a scarf to put on when taking publc transportation because of sexual harassement.
  • you stopped taking public transportion because you're scared the taxi driver would start jerking off.
  • you seriously just had ENOUGH and ready to do something about it!
  • and the list goes on..!
  • of course guys are also welcome to join.

Basic Information from the Egyptian Center for Women Rights: "Sexual harassment is not specifically addressed or defined in the Egyptian law. But there are 3 articles in the existing criminal code that we can apply in cases of harassment:

  • Insulting (Article 306 of the Penal Code)
  • Indecent behavior (Article 278 of the Penal Code)
  • Sexual assault (Article 268 of the Penal Code)

    1. Insulting: This law covers all types of insults, so it can also be applied to cat-calling and other verbal harassments in the street. (=mo3aksa) --> This is considered a minor crime and is only tried in a “partial” court (محكمة جزئية), which has 1 judge. Sentences can range from a fine of 100 LE to one month in prison
    2. Indecent Behavior: This is covered by one article in the section on sexual crimes and can be applied to cases of indecent exposure, following and stalking (as well as to cases of public kissing). -->This is considered a more serious crime and is tried in a larger criminal court (جنائية محكمة) with 3 judges. Sentences range from a fine to 3 years in prison.
    3. Sexual Assault: This is another sexual crime and can be applied to cases of touching and other physical harassments. -->This is considered a more serious crime and is also tried in the larger criminal court (جنائية محكمة) with 3 judges. Sentences range from 3 years to 15 years in prison.

Problems:

  • Problem of Proof: The first and most important obstacle to applying any of these laws is the necessity of having proof. Women have only one chance to catch the harasser and this often depends on having the help of others at the right time. With no proof, women cannot make a report or bring a case to court. Other Obstacles:
  • Sexual harassment is not specifically defined or addressed by the law
  • Absence of police officers specifically responsible for protecting the public
  • Lack of public awareness of the law
  • Lack of enforcement (for any reason)
  • Hesitance of victims to make a report (for any reason) -Hesitance of witnesses to become involved and support the victim (for any reason) "

Contact Information

Facebook Group

User Comments

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Submit an Initiative

Simply send us an e-mail with a description of your organization or initiative:

[email protected]

We do not endorse any political or religious initiatives, since those initiatives tend to cause a lot of dispute, and we are trying to bring our society together for the greater good of our people.

Participate Today!

It is very easy! Participate by checking out the initiatives listed below and start taking action in your everyday life! Awareness is also an important factor in the success of this platform, so spread the word, tell your friends, post a link to the website on your facebook profile, add a link to your website, or just tweet about it! Spread the word!

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The website is still under construction, and we will be adding more features to it very soon allowing for an even more active participation from everyone!

For Bloggers

If you are a blogger and you believe in the cause of this platform, post about it in your blog and let your readers know about it.

You can also help us spread the word by adding the following badge to your blog!

Egyptian Initiatives - Initiatives worth spreading. For a better Egypt.

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