In Egypt, does the veil (niqab) lead to increased harassment?

Question

The headline:

In Egypt, Some Women Say That Veils Increase Harassment

The link:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/16/AR2008081602063.html?nav=rss_world

The snip:

CAIRO -- In a Muslim country where the numbers of women wearing the veil are rising, and so -- by most accounts -- are incidents of groping and catcalls in the streets, the message in ads circulating anonymously in e-mails here in Egypt is clear:

"A veil to protect, or eyes will molest," one warns.

The words sit over two illustrations, one comparing a veiled woman, her hair and neck covered in the manner known to Muslims as hijab, to a wrapped candy, untouched and pure.

The other picture shows an unveiled woman, hair flying wildly and hip jutting, next to a candy that has had its wrapper stripped off -- and is now covered in flies.

"You can't stop them, but you can protect yourself," warns another ad likening men to flies and women to sweets. Bloggers in Egypt have taken to calling such messages the "veil your lollipop" campaign.

No group has asserted responsibility for the online ads, which so far have drawn little attention outside Egyptian blogs. But the campaign comes at a time of converging debate on two keenly felt issues in Egypt: the growing social pressure on Muslim women to veil themselves; and the rising incidence of sexual harassment of women by strangers.

Surprisingly, some Egyptian women say that their veils don't protect against harassment, as the lollipop ads argue, but fuel it. A survey released this summer supports the view.

"These guys are animals. If they saw a female dog, they would harass it," Hind Sayed, a 20-year-old sidewalk vendor in Cairo's Mohandisseen district, said, staring coldly at a knot of male vendors who stood grinning a few feet from her.

Answer 1

Not every you thing you read in the media proves to be true, most of it is biased.

according to a recent study done by the National Council for Women Rights: harassment to women are almost the same rate (about 66%) for girls with no hijab and girls wearing it (hijab, a scarf that covers the hair only not the face)

AND girls who are wearing "niqab" the rate was not comparable to the upper rate (3-5%)

(note: i m NOT telling this to say that something is better than something from a religious point of view. but the problem is with lost manners in some young youth (men), and i find it an indication of economic frustration and lack of life purpose. Another point although we condemn such behaviors, this kind of behavior is presented in the movies as something "cool")

Some other factors we have to think about: some girls report what i can call illusions in her mind, and not a real harassment, because she picture her self in her mind as a target for men, and so she might misinterprets others behavior with her as a harassment.

Also how do they define harassment? Some girls might interpret a glance as starring, and consider it harassment.

And although some girls complain about it, they still sub-consciously like it and make them feel wanted... And they complain to picture themselves as a girl of manners.

I mean that assessment questionnaire doesn't grantee credibility as the answerers some times answer with the mentioned ideas in their mental background. if you asked a girl how many times have you experience street harassments from a man, she would probably say yes, just to maintain her self-image the way she want.

Moreover the whole article is not based on a questionnaire from the first place, just passer-by talk and impressions.

Answer 2

I think these men need to remember it also says in the Quran to lower their gazes.  To any future travelers not all Egyptian men are like this only some have lost their respect.