QENA: A recently released video shows a 20-year-old woman who was harassed in Upper Egypt holding a tight grip of her harasser, shortly before handing him over to police.
The incident has reportedly led to a strict three-year sentence for the 25-year-old man who appeared in the video as punishment for the harassment.
The punishment was considered the first-of-its-kind in the conservative Upper Egyptian community, according to Masrawy news website.
Recently released footage showed the victim — dressed in a long, black robe while wearing a blue headscarf — being targeted by a man in a red shirt.
She fiercely reacted by running after him, banging his head with her bag several times, to which he reacted by beating her.
A man on a motorcycle intervened, trying to stop them from beating each other, but failed.
Unfazed by the harasser’s violence toward her, the woman insisted on getting a hold of him, until passers-by surrounded the two of them in an attempt to defuse the situation.
It is reported that the woman handed her harasser over to police, who arrested him.
The court sentenced him to three years in jail.
The verdict was hailed at the time by the National Council for Women in Qena for “its fairness toward Egyptian women.”
The Women’s Guidance and Legal Awareness Center said the strict verdict is “a deterrent to anyone who does such things”.
