Sisi weighs in on sexual harassment after assaults

Egypt's new President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi weighed in on Tuesday on one of the nation’s most troubling social ills.

Sisi ordered his interior minister to do whatever it takes to combat sexual harassment and called for the decisive implementation of a new law that punishes convicted harassers with up to five years in prison, Ehab Badawi, a presidential spokesman told the Associated Press.

Also read: Seven arrested after Egypt sex assault video

Video: Disturbing sexual harassment scene in Cairo’s Tahrir square

The statement comes after a series of sexual assaults on women during celebrations marking Sisi's inauguration, including a mass attack on a mother and her teenage daughter.

Sisi also instructed Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim to honor a policeman who came to the teenager's rescue, Badawi added.

On Monday, the Egyptian interior ministry said police had arrested seven men aged 16 to 49 as “they had (sexually) harassed a number of girls during the celebrations in the Tahrir area.”

Last week, outgoing interim President Adly Mansour signed a law criminalizing sexual harassment. Those found guilty of the offence now face large fines and long jail terms.