This story has been leaking out, slowly, inexorably, though it seems to be picking up steam now.
On the first and second day of Eid Al-Fitr, Egyptian bloggers reported attacks against women by hordes of young men in downtown Cairo near Metro Cinema in Abdel-Khaleq Tharwat Street. The Interior Ministry has denied the reports, saying no complaints or charges have been filed relating to such incidents. If they did really happen, sources at the Interior Ministry ask, why were no reports filed at police stations?
Bloggers at the scene at the time of the incidents refute the ministry's denials. Blogger Malek Mustafa, also known as Malcolm X, says he witnessed the attacks first hand as mobs of men near the cinema picked on women at random, encircling them and attempting to tear away their clothing.
It started, says Mustafa, when tickets for the movie premier at the cinema sold out and the men could not gain admittance. They proceeded to break the windows of the cinema before turning their attention to women in the area. In all, Malek says, he saw five women attacked in the ensuing chaos that lasted for almost an hour.
Follow the link. The details are disturbing and at times graphic.
This particular incident (there have been others, it seems) is already several weeks old, and there's been precious little in the way of English language news about it. But the blogs are humming. See especially here, here, here and here.
The good news: last week there was an impressive demonstration against sexual harassment in downtown Cairo. Sandmonkey has pictures.
