‘Walk like an Egyptian woman’ rally to hit Cairo

Following accounts of sexual harassment in Egypt's Tahrir Square earlier this week, during the inauguration of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a group of Egyptian women will rally on Saturday.

The event titled "Walk like an Egyptian Woman" – has already attracted over 13,000 Facebook users who say they'll participate in the anti-sexual harassment protest, according to Ahram Online.

Dina El-Shebba, the event's organizer, wrote on the Facebook page:

"So if in India people protested against the gang rape of two girls, [then this] is the least we can do for the woman that was raped in Tahrir today along with all the Egyptian women who are subjected to violence every day."

Shebba's comments refer to last month's news of the gang-rape and murder of two young girls, aged 12 and 14, in the north Indian state of Uttar Prudesh, which drew widespread condemnation.

On Tuesday, 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 came 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.