Lebanese women protest against rape and sexual harassment and demand safe streets

On the occasion of International Women Day (IWD) the AUB Red Oak Club organized this Tuesday a march under the banner ‘The Street is Ours Even at Late Night’ in clear protest against the continuing sexual harassment of women. The demonstration which took off from Ain Mreiseh coastal corniche towards the Riyadi Sports Club, coincides with and is inspired by the annual feminist night march known as ‘Reclaim the Night’ to regain the safety of public spaces. Participants hoisted posters that contained answers to questions put to them when they decide to speak up about their disagreeable experiences of harassment. Like for example, ‘the question is not what you were wearing’, or ‘the street has no opening hours’, or ‘no, it is not ok’ and ‘to talk dirty to me is not gallant’. The local police also had their share in a banner that said, ‘even security is not secure’, pointing out to the alleged harassment of women by security forces. Elaborating on the above march, the Red Oak Club activist, Aya Adra, explained that choosing the coastal corniche had two reasons: first to reclaim public spaces that are being systematically appropriated through privatization schemes, and secondly because the corniche is a typical place for sexual harassment incidents. Adra stressed that “harassment is not the problem of one person; rather it is interconnected with a greater patriarchal male chauvinist system that rips women of their natural right to walk safely in the streets at night.” Concerning rape, Adra indicated that three women were raped only last week in Beirut, adding that the three women live in the same area and know each others. Adra concluded by stressing that these women had the courage to disclose what happened to them, while the actual number of women cases who experienced rape but did not declare, remains unknown. (As Safir, March 10, 2016)