On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, women in Egypt continue to face atrocities committed against them by General Abdul-Fattah El-Sisi’s regime.

Female dissidents in Egypt face heinous crimes including imprisonment, death penalty, forced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, rape and torture.

Since the 3rd of July, 2013 military coup, the death penalty is passed to 2 women: Samia Shanan who is currently detained, and Sondos Assem in absentia. 115 women were illegally killed by security forces and nearly 2000 women and female minors were arrested for political reasons; 62 of them remain in custody to this day. 20 women are trialed in military courts and 8 women forcibly disappeared. Earlier this month, 14 women were sentenced to a total of 140 years in jail1.

Mothers, daughters and female relatives of victims of the massacres and those detained for political reasons continue to suffer poor economic conditions and emotional suffering from the loss or absence of their loved ones2.

Hundreds of women and children in the Sinai Peninsula suffer death, injury and forced displacement as the state demolishes thousands of homes along the Gaza borders without any financial compensation or provision of alternative shelter to those affected3.

Apart from deprivation of basic human rights, Egyptian women suffer gender inequality in the areas of economy, politic, health and education according to the Global Gender Gap report of the World Economic Forum4. Practically all women in Egypt faced some form of sexual harassment according to a report by the UN in 20135 and two years later, with widespread reports of sexual assault on women, especially during public gatherings and celebrations, it is evident that the current regime did not take serious measures to tackle this problem.

In light of the appalling situation that women in Egypt are forced to cope with on a daily basis, and on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Egyptian Revolutionary Council (ERC), in support of Women Against the Coup (WAC), is making all possible efforts to highlight this. The ERC is communicating with members of parliament in the UK on this regard and is organising a protest, along with other organisations, on Sunday, the 29th of November, in Trafalgar Square between 13:00 and 15:00.

[1] Human Rights Monitor: report on 14 women imprisoned in Dakahliya
[2] Daily News Egypt: article on visiting a detainee in Egypt
[3] Sentinel Human Rights Defenders: report on the suffering of women and children in Sinai
[4] Egyptian Streets: article on gender eguality in Egypt
[5] Time: article on sexual harrasement crisis in Egypt