To date, I always thought that Cairo was an extremely safe city-safe for single women, safe for women to go out unescorted in the nights. A number of my expat friends and acquaintances have felt otherwise, they insisted that it is not “all that” safe - they had narrated incidents of kerb crawling and catcalls! But I was not convinced!
I believe them now after what I witnessed from my apartment window last night. Saw a smartly dressed woman walking on the street below. A man and a child were walking besides her and the man seemed to be saying something to her. They looked like a family to me, probably returning home after dinner at one of the nearby restaurants. But then I saw the lady suddenly dart in front of the man and rush to cross the street-she seemed to be avoiding the man. It then stuck me that the man was not known to her and had actually been following her trying to chat her up. To add to her woes, a car came and braked next to her and then started kerb crawling her…..Hey stop it! Leave her alone! I felt like shouting out to the men harassing her. As the lady continued walking, and the men followed her (one in the car and the other on foot), I could no longer see them. Was quite disturbed by what I saw. Is this the “real” Cairo and is this how the Cairenes behave?
Just last week, when I had cousins visiting from India, I had emphatically declared to them that Cairo is very safe and probably even more safer than Bombay (Mumbai) for women…..don’t know what to say now?.
I believe them now after what I witnessed from my apartment window last night. Saw a smartly dressed woman walking on the street below. A man and a child were walking besides her and the man seemed to be saying something to her. They looked like a family to me, probably returning home after dinner at one of the nearby restaurants. But then I saw the lady suddenly dart in front of the man and rush to cross the street-she seemed to be avoiding the man. It then stuck me that the man was not known to her and had actually been following her trying to chat her up. To add to her woes, a car came and braked next to her and then started kerb crawling her…..Hey stop it! Leave her alone! I felt like shouting out to the men harassing her. As the lady continued walking, and the men followed her (one in the car and the other on foot), I could no longer see them. Was quite disturbed by what I saw. Is this the “real” Cairo and is this how the Cairenes behave?
Just last week, when I had cousins visiting from India, I had emphatically declared to them that Cairo is very safe and probably even more safer than Bombay (Mumbai) for women…..don’t know what to say now?.
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