Shock, controversy and voyeurism after the savage murder of a student in Egypt

A student in Mansourah, north of Cairo, Nayra Achraf dreamed of becoming an air hostess. His life was snatched from him at 21. Her killer had decided that she would be his or she would die. He had stalked her for months, she had reported his threats to the police. He killed her with a knife, under the eyes of surveillance cameras and witnesses, on June 20, at the entrance to the university.

A month later, the shock remains strong in Egypt. Controversies and voyeurism too: local media, which are covering the case, recently published the result of the virginity test performed on the deceased during the autopsy. Or the list of what his bag contained at the time of his death.

These invasions of the victim’s privacy make Mozn Hassan, head of the feminist NGO Nazra (“look”) jump: “This way of delving into Nayra Achraf’s story takes us away from the only reality that matters: she was killed! What public discourse are we conveying by displaying these details? The shock wave was very strong after the appalling death of this student. But other Egyptians reacted by saying: “I want to show solidarity, but I want to understand first. Had she had an affair with the murderer? Was she a virgin?”, etc. This denotes a patriarchal attitude of blaming the victim. And that’s off topic. »

On July 6, the death sentence for the killer, Mohamed Adel, who was also attending Mansoura University, was upheld after the Grand Mufti of Egypt approved the judgment – ​​his opinion is required, according to custom, for any capital punishment. The killer was taken into custody shortly after the crime, then found guilty of “premeditated murder” on June 28, after a whirlwind trial. According to justice, all the elements were there for a quick verdict. But this probably owes a lot to the horror of the gesture filmed and to popular pressure: the images have been looped on the Internet.

Femicide treated on a case-by-case basis

Egypt is not the prerogative of feminicides or violence against women – any more than the Middle East. A tenacious patriarchal culture, a religious rigor introduced in the 1970s by Egyptians who left to work in Saudi Arabia, even, sometimes, economic conditions are often put forward as factors to explain the widespread violence and harassment… But according to feminists , the fundamental flaw is the absence, in the most populous Arab country, of a law that criminalizes violence against women. Femicides are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. What give the perpetrators of abuse a feeling of impunity.

If the sentences against sexual harassment have been reinforced, social pressure or that of the police discourage victims from filing a complaint. Reported violence is minimized. “Nayra Achraf had reported her stalker and she was not protected. His murder resonates with Egyptian women, as it means no woman is safe. It’s absurd that you have to wait for a crime to be committed before justice can be done.”protests Mozn Hassan.

Dead body of TV presenter found with acid disfigured face

According to the student’s family and friends, she was supported by her parents. She had refused the marriage proposals of her murderer, who pursued her obsessively on social networks. A traditional reconciliation process – supposed to settle disputes outside the legal framework – had also been launched.

This crime is not an isolated act. In December 2021, a 17-year-old teenager, Bassant Khaled, committed suicide after a rejected suitor blackmailed her by publishing naked photomontages on the Web. Shortly after the announcement of the death of Nayra Achraf, the corpse of a television presenter, Shaïma Gamal, was found, her face disfigured with acid. Her husband – a magistrate – is charged with the murder.

Changing the public discourse

Feminicides are covered more in the Egyptian press – sometimes with drifts. A movement against violence against women has also gained momentum since 2020, with the aim of changing public discourse. A long struggle: alongside reactions of shock and support for Nayra Ashraf’s family, many other Egyptians have sought extenuating circumstances for the murderer or blamed the victim.

A preacher, Mabrouk Attiya, stepped up to say that women must wear the veil and cover themselves, in order to ” live ” and not to stir up temptations – insinuating that Nayra Achraf’s fate would have been different if she had adopted such a dress code. His comments sparked an outcry, but he also garnered widespread support on social media. In the same vein, a neighbor of the murderer presented him in front of the cameras as a young man without problems, living in a calm family, “except when he beat his mother and sisters” – as if it were an ordinary act.

“This situation does not mean that nothing can be done.says Mozn Hassan. Feminist organizations have been committed for years to move the lines at the legal level. We can, at the very least, introduce an article specific to violence against women into the Penal Code. There are many proposals. But it takes political will to move forward. »