During the revolution there was a strong sense of equality and unity. The March of the Millions at February 1st resembled a family meeting or a reunification of friends. Skin color, religion or gender were not important within this bubble. Even at days of violence men and women literally fought for freedom. We hoped that the Million Women March would be honoring these events and the men and women who sacrificed themselves for it.

Armed with banners and stickers we took to the streets against sexual harassment. The women of Egypt were committed to make people aware of the damage harassment does and to show they do not accept it any longer.

To our surprise there were more men than women at Tahrir. Immediately our presence was questioned and our demands laughed at. Reactions were for example:
'Remove your sign. This does not happen in Egypt.’
‘This is not the time to say this kind of things. We should give the government time.’
‘If you don’t want to be harassed, stay at home.’
‘You are right: it’s not okay to harass women. Only Christian ones you should harass.’
‘You have no right to be here.’
‘What does your stamp [tattoo] stand for? Are you a spy?’

After a while the men started chanting 'We are Egypt, Egypt are we'. The message was clear. We as women we no part of society and our opinion did not matter to them. A men in traditional clothing saw me filming the discussions and in a reaction pinched me. Next they physically forced the women of the square by pushing and touching us. The day ended with women who had to run for safety and men who chased them.

Two days after being part of all this the intimidation continued right in my apartment. The doorbell rang and there was a guy with our boweb who said he had to check the phone line. He checked the phone and started asking personal questions about my presence in Cairo. 'What are you doing here?' 'Where do you study? Tell me! I need to know!' A couple hours after he left the phone would not stop ringing. Different guys called and told us 'They wanted to be our friend'. Eventually we had to unplug the phone.

These events illustrate how sexual harassment is used to control what people say and do.