Schirin Salem always knew that she wanted to support women and girls. But it was only in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution that she realised that she could contribute to solving the country’s sexual harassment problem.

Tired of always being passive and silent, Salem, together with her friend Emeline Lavender, decided to create Igmadi (“Be strong”), a series of events to teach women how to defend themselves against harassers through Zumba fitness and Wen-Do training. Through Igmadi, women could share experiences and learn ways to defend themselves in public and private spaces.

“When the revolution erupted and sexual harassment skyrocketed, I thought about what I could do to make things better,” says Salem. “I wanted to use my skills to bring about positive change for women and girls in Egypt.”

Practicing Wen-Do from the age of 13 in Germany, Salem went on to get her certification to teach women to fight sexual harassment. A form of self-defence for women, Wen-Do was developed by a married couple in Toronto, Canada in 1964, after a woman was brutally murdered and attacked in New York that year. Wen-Do has since grown in popularity and expanded in Europe, US and now Egypt, with the help of Salem.

SPREADING THE WEN-DO PHENOMENA

As in many countries across the world, sexual harassment is a common social problem for women.

“Many women, including myself, have experienced sexual harassment,’’ says Salem. “It’s important to know how to deal with so it doesn’t continue to affect our lives.”

To teach women to fight, the event starts off with Zumba fitness to help build body confidence through movement, and is followed by Wen-Do training. It covers a wide range of physical and verbal self-defence techniques, awareness and avoidance of threatening situations. It also discusses the psychological, social and legal issues involved in self-defence.

To organise its events, Igmadi partnered with several women’s rights organizations in Egypt such as Nazra Institute for Feminist Studies, Harassmap and Heya Masr.

“We have received very positive feedback from the women who have attended these events,” Salem continues. “They feel empowered afterwards not only in handling harassers, but in all areas of their lives. This feeling of empowerment and confidence trickles down to everything.”

CHALLENGING SOCIAL NORMS

But, not all women were on board with Igmadi. Many were sceptical of how a dance-themed event could address a serious problem like sexual harassment.

“We were asked several times how we intend to solve harassment by dancing on stage,” says Salem. “It took time for people to understand that it is not just dancing. Our goal is to make women feel confident by using songs with empowering messages, creating a feeling of solidarity among participants and teaching women to stand up to sexual harassers.”

Salem explains that for women to react to harassers, they must believe that is their right to react.

“But here in Egypt, this is something that women struggle with.”

The trainer adds that many women believe that ignoring is the best method, avoiding confrontation with the harasser, as it is socially inappropriate.

“In a society where there is limited physical and emotional contact between men and women, it is important to make women comfortable with the idea of putting their safety and security first before anything else.”

LOOKING FORWARD

While solving Egypt’s sexual harassment problem may take years or even decades, in the short term, having women learn how to handle harassers and reclaim their rights sends a clear message that times are changing.

One of Salem’s best moments of teaching Wen-Do was when a woman she trained told her that she no longer gets harassed.

“It’s not because she is physically fighting harassers, but because she now has the confidence and tools to deal with them. And this reflects in the way she walks and the way she carries herself.”

At present, Igmadi is offered once a year as it relies on partners to sponsor the event so women can attend for free.

“I would love to have more Igmadi events not only in Egypt, but in neighbouring Arab countries,” Salem concludes. “Wherever we do it, whether in big cities like Cairo or Alexandria, or in remote places like Minya or Damanhour in Egypt, I realise that we’re all the same. It works for everyone no matter where you are in the world.”