Mona Eltahawy on the Egyptian media and gender representation,

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:54:15 +0000

by Kristina Hallez

On October 30, journalist Mona Eltahawy returned to her alma mater, the American University in Cairo, to deliver a lecture on relationship between media and violence against women.

Eltahawy began her lecture, entitled "Violence Against Women: Pop Culture and Public Debate in Egypt," on a personal note, sharing a few of her own experiences with sexual harassment. Most alarming was her account of being groped while completing the circling of Kaaba during her Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). These encounters stimulated her desire to garner the opinions of other women and their anecdotal responses, supported by wider statistics, suggest that harassment is extremely pervasive in Egyptian society. She went on to discuss a very recent and marked increase in the coverage of violence against women within Egyptian media, emphasizing the powerful role of television and radio in Egypt. Both serve as the primary channels through which most Egyptians receive news, information and entertainment.

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Mona Eltahawy on the Egyptian media and gender representation,