Egyptian Women Post About Sex Crimes, Government Acts

 

Egypt is experiencing a renewed social media movement against sexual abuse that led to many accusations¹ against a single man.

Cairo police arrested 21-year-old Ahmed Bassam Zaki at his home 10 days ago. The case has captured the country's attention, partly because those involved come from rich and powerful families.

Women's rights activists² say they hope the government's quick action signals a change in how the country deals with accusations of sexual wrongdoing.

More than 100 girls and women describe meeting Zaki in person and online. Their individual accusations include rape³, assault, and blackmail⁴. Some of the accusers were children when the reported crimes took place.

Activists say the case shows that sex abuse is widespread in the country. Many in Egypt had argued in the past that only poor and uneducated people carried out sex crimes.

"What's before this case is totally different from what's after," said Nihad Abuel-Komsan. She is head of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights and a lawyer representing some of the reported victims.

Sexual wrongdoing is a complex problem in Egypt. The country's conservative culture ties female sexual innocence⁵ to a family's social image. In courts, the responsibility of proof lies heavily on the victims of such crimes.

In a statement, the public prosecutor⁶'s officer said the accused man admitted to blackmailing⁷ at least six girls. He reportedly threatened to send sensitive images of them to their families if the girls cut off contact with him. Several attempts by The Associated Press to contact Zaki or his lawyer were unsuccessful.

Amr Adib, Egypt's popular television show host, reported on the case recently. He said he had talked with Zaki's father, a high-level official at a telecommunication⁸ company. The man reportedly said that his son dismissed the accusations.

Abuel-Komsan says at least 10 women have filed official reports with the police.

Activists created an Instagram account, @assaultpolice, to gather accusations, said Sabah Khodir, a United States-based writer who helps run the account. She said there are more than 100 reports so far.

"We are demanding to be listened to ... We are just using what we have, lending our voices to hopefully create some kind of change," she said.

A court has ordered that Zaki remain in jail while an investigation¹⁰ continues. The prosecutor has urged any other possible victims to make official reports.

Last week, Egypt's government proposed a measure to increase protections of the identities of victims of sexual wrongdoing. Parliament is to consider the proposal. If approved, it will be sent to President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who can approve or reject the measure.

The charges against Zaki cover suspected crimes carried out over at least three years. Many of the accusations on social media appear to be from students at the American International School, one of the country's costliest¹¹ private high schools. Many others appear to be from students at American University in Cairo. Zaki went to both schools.

University officials said Zaki left the school in 2018. He apparently¹² was admitted to the European Union Business School in Spain, in an online program, last year.

In February, he traveled to Barcelona to study at EUBS on site. Three weeks later, school officials suspended and later expelled him after learning of accusations against him, including some by students at the school. EUBS has since filed a criminal report in cooperation with @assaultpolice to demand Spanish police fully⁹ investigate Zaki's reported actions.

The head of the American University in Cairo, Francis Ricciardone, said university policy treats sexual abuse of any kind as unacceptable. However, he said he would not comment on an ongoing¹³ case.

The recent reports against Zaki led Egypt's Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's top religious center, to speak out about sexual crimes.

I'm Caty Weaver¹⁴.

Words In This Story

assault - n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically¹⁵

blackmail - n. the crime of threatening to tell secret information about someone unless the person being threatened gives you money or does what you want

prosecutor - n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty

host - n. a person who talks to guests on a television or radio show

1 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

4 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

5 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

6 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

7 blackmailing   

胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The policemen kept blackmailing him, because they had sth. on him. 那些警察之所以经常去敲他的竹杠是因为抓住把柄了。
• Democratic paper "nailed" an aggravated case of blackmailing to me. 民主党最主要的报纸把一桩极为严重的讹诈案件“栽”在我的头上。

8 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

12 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

14 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

15 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。