Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — The special female police unit that was formed last year to combat harassment and violence against women took to the streets recently. Many women and large segments of society welcomed their deployment on the street.

 

It was a sign of comfort for many Egyptian women to see female officers on the street and areas that are overcrowded with people. For many women, it is easier to communicate with a female police officer than to communicate with a male officer.

 

The role of female police officers was very much limited in the past to monitoring elections and were seen at the site of women demonstrations. 

Lately, women are seen almost everywhere, especially in front of girls school, in underground metro stations, in front of cinema halls and also on public occasions and festivals in downtown.

 

Colonel Nashwa Mahmoud, officer in combat violence against woman unit, said in her interview with Egyptian CBC Channel that female police role is to combat violence against women and protect them from any violence or sexual harassment.

 

Nashwa added in her interview, “We are working now on ending harassment of women on the Egyptian streets.”

 

She also shows in the program how she deals with anyone who harasses a woman.

 

Colonel Manar Mukhtar, the officer in combat violence against women unit in the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, said that one of the main problems they are facing is that women are not willing to come forward to report harassment cases. She said that part of their role is to increase awareness among women through media, workshops, forums. Even when we are on the streets, we tell women who face harassment that she is a victim.

 

“The problem with the family of a victim is that they blame their daughter. 

The good thing is there is awareness in the youth and they are cooperating with us and accepting to combat harassment and report about any abuse without considering it a stigma,” she said.

 

How do people accept the existence of the anti-harassment female police unit?

 

Huda Alwiy, a 34-year-old woman who works in the private sector in Egypt, told Saudi Gazette that her fear of harassment in the past led her to buy a car to avoid public transportation. She said that she feels more protected that way.

 

“I saw female police officers in the street and it made me feel proud. They look strong and serious and ready to take control of any action that might hurt women. Although I have not faced any situation that needs their help but knowing that they are around made me feel safety and protected,” she said.

 

“Now that they are present in many areas frequented by women, I will go back to using public transportation because women cops are present in the underground metro,” she said.

 

Fatema El-Zahraa also believes that female police gives her the sense of safety.

 

“We faced harassment so much that we feared going out. The establishment of this unit made us feel more comfortable. Female officers look tough and strong and ready to deal with any situation. I’m very proud and I wish when I finish my university to apply to the police academy to be one of those strong women,” she said.

 

The unit officer received a training course in the US.