For weeks now, we’ve all been following updates of the gang-rape incident, also known as the “Fairmont Crime”, that was revealed as a result of the ongoing anti-sexual harassment campaign in Egypt.
Things continue to escalate and the highlight of it all is the news about how the victim herself (remains anonymous until this very moment) came forward and is now taking proper legal action.
All was going well until last night, August 15, when the Instagram account, Gang Rapists of Cairo, taking on the case, reported that the victim’s identity might be compromised. Instantly a campaign was launched aiming to protect her identity at all costs!
And in a matter of hours, our timelines were flooded by posts with the “I Am The Fairmont Victim” statements. In a clear cut message to the rapists, rape apologists, and anyone working in the opposite direction to the case that we will all protect the victim from any sort of shame that may follow her identity revelation.
A huge number of actors, influencers, and social media personalities have also joined in the cause and used the template to spread the message among their high-reach platforms.
If you’re now wondering how things came to this, here’s a quick recap. A source revealed that the rapists were somehow able to attain a voice recording of the victim recounting to her own lawyer the full details of that night.
They threatened the victim to reveal her identity and subject her to public slut-shaming, since they would obviously weave in story details of their own making.
Honestly, we can’t be more proud of Egyptian girls. We’re not just talking about activists here; we’re also talking about normal people who are taking the time to support and root for another fellow woman (whom they don’t even know) and offer up their own names, time, and energy to make sure she gets justice.
This is the kind of female-empowerment movement we’ve all hoped to see happen in Egypt since forever, right? A movement with no judgment or prejudice whatsoever. Just the hope that if any of us, Egyptian women, face her same fate, we’ll receive the same positive reactions.
