Egypt court fines man after ‘sexy girl’ remark
Verdict comes after stern new laws against sexual harassment were implemented earlier this month
An Egyptian court on Wednesday fined a taxi driver $700 (5,000 Egyptian pounds) told a woman participating in a protest against harassment at a Cairo square to “make way mozza (Arabic slang for “hot girl”).”
The verdict was issued by the head of a Cairo court of misdemeanors, minutes after the session kicked off.
Eyewitnesses and girls at the protest had told the prosecution office that the defendant mocked their protest and verbally harassed them saying: “honey” and “make way mozza.”
The taxi driver - who had been detained for four days - denied the charge in court, only admitting to asking one of the girls to make way in order to pass.
Although the girl who was allegedly harassed dropped the charges, the judge issued the fine.
Tough law
The sentence follows under new legislation issued earlier this month by former interim President Adly Mansour outlawing sexual harassment - long considered to be one of the nation’s most troubling social ills.
The anti-sexual abuse decree amended existing laws that only vaguely referred to sexual harassment offenses as “indecent assaults.”
The decree defines a sexual harasser as a person seeking to achieve “an interest of a sexual nature,” while any sexual hints via words, signs or acts can now result in at least six months in jail.
Shortly after taking office, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi told Interior Minister Mohammad Ibrahim to do whatever it takes to combat sexual harassment and called for the decisive implementation of the new laws.
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