Egypt’s justice has finally put an end to the case involving TV host Riham Said that started on October 28, 2015. The presenter published intimate photos of one of her guests, a young woman, without the knowledge of this one. Her guest had been sexually harassed in an Egyptian mall. On the pictures the presenter released, the young woman was wearing a two-piece swimsuit on a beach, and was with a man.

It was later found that the Rihaam Said copied the photos from the guest’s Smartphone. Her goal was to show that the young man had been harassed only because she wore provoking outfits.

Finally, the court condemned Riham Said to 18 months in prison with a fine of EGP10,000 (about $1,250). Prior to this, the presenter was already much criticized by an Egyptian society which knows much of women’s daily ordeal.  

What rang the bell of the society concerning sexual harassment and rapes cases in Egypt was a video showing a young student, stripped, beaten and sexually abused by a group of men, in the middle of Tahrir square (Cairo) surrounded by an indifferent crowd, in June 2014.  

A survey by UN Women in 2013 revealed that 99.3% of Egyptian women have suffered some sort of sexual harassment.

Riham Said’s show on Ennahar shocked so much that sponsoring brands pulled back. These include Fine Babu, Dove and Pampers.

Assongmo Necdem