Egyptian and Saudi legislators are considering draft laws concerning sexual harassment.
A special parliamentary committee in Saudi Arabia is discussing a draft law, which calls for between one to three years in jail and a fine of up to 100,000 Saudi Riyals ($26,650). The committee will present its conclusions to the parliament in the second week of December, the Saudi daily ArabNews reported.
According to the proposal, sexual harassment does not only mean physical contact, but may also take place over the phone or through physical gestures or speech. Any attempts to set up out-of-office meetings, or offers of rides, can also be considered harassment, the proposal stipulates.
A similar draft law was also submitted in Egypt, calling to criminalize sexual harassment. The proposal calls for a one-year prison sentence and a fine of up to 1,000 Egyptian Pounds ($180) for those who perpetrate harassment against women in public or in the workplace.
"We have in the Penal Code some articles which deal with sexual insults, but we don’t have the concept of sexual harassment," Nihad Abu Al-Kumsan, chairman of the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR), told The Media Line.
Al-Kumsan said she expected the parliament to take a decision on the matter by the end of January or early February.
"Whatever the result of the discussion is, it will be important, as it will open a dialogue and create awareness in our society," said Al-Kumsan.
A weekend report from Egypt revealed that the Cairo Police have recently arrested hundreds of teenagers, aged 15 to 17, for sexually harassing women.
Al-Kumsan welcomed the arrests, saying this was one way to stop the phenomenon.
"Men have to know that there are consequences to violating women’s privacy in the street. By arresting these people, the police are sending a clear message that this is not funny anymore. However, we have to work on many other levels. The police alone cannot stop this. We have to work with the media and we have to bring this into the educational curriculum," said Al-Kumsan.
According to ECWR, other Arab countries, such as Morocco and Lebanon, are also looking into criminalizing sexual harassment. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have already done so.