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Salafi preacher blames girls’ indecent clothes for sexual harassment during Eid al-Fitr

Thursday 22-06-2017 - 10:31 PM

Mohammed Attia

Cairo – A Salafi preacher has blamed girls’ inappropriate clothes for the high incidence of sexual harassment during Eid al-Fitr.

Eid al-Fitr (festival of breaking of the fast) is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

This year, Eid al-Fitr is scheduled to fall on June 25 or 26.

Sameh Abdel Hamid

In a statement to Egypt's Youm7 news website on Thursday, Sameh Abdel Hamid urged girls to wear decent clothing in order not to fall victims to sexual harassment.

The youth respect girls who wear Niqab, a one-piece veil that covers only the face, he claimed.

Abdel Hamid also urged the state bodies to prevent girls who wear indecent clothes from entering parks and public places.

The emergence of the Salafi movement in Egypt after the January 25 revolution has given way to a series of controversial fatwas that mainly focused on women, Copts, culture and democracy.

Such fatwas encountered a lot of resentment by Egyptian intellectuals who warned of the dangers of such extremist ideologies on the Egyptian culture and the awareness of the Egyptian people.

In recent years, female police officers have been deployed by the interior ministry on the streets to confront sexual harassment during Eid, which often witnesses a surge in reports of harassment.

Sexual harassment was criminalized in 2014. The law imposes jail terms of no less than six months, and/or fines of EGP 3,000 to EGP 5,000 on those who are found guilty of sexual harassment in public or private areas.