Egypt's National Council for Women (NCW) announced Saturday that they will be operating a help center to receive harassment reports from women during Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Head of the council, Rania Yahya said there will be branches operating in all governorates to receive complaints in cooperation with the human rights department of the Interior Ministry.
NCW will be working with an Interior Ministry unit specialized in combating violence against women to ensure swift intervention in cases of harassment, said Yahya.
Security measures will be stepped up during Eid al-Fitr to arrest sexual harassers, she stated, adding that the NCW shall provide legal assistance to women who file lawsuits against their predators.
National holidays in Egypt have become associated with a peak in sexual violence and mass incidents of harassment and rape.
A study by UN Women in 2013 found that 99.3 percent of Egyptian women and girls reported having been subjected to verbal or physical harassment.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
