Kidnapping, forced
conversion, female circumcision, social discrimination: these are some of
things local Christian women in Egypt report they must face.
It is a phenomenon
that is scarcely known in the West: the kidnapping and rape of Christian women
and girls and their forced conversion to Islam.
"Before 2011, it
affected perhaps six or seven girls in the whole of Egypt. But now the numbers
have grown into the thousands," Said Fayez, a Coptic lawyer and human
rights activist told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Very young girls, such
as 14-year-old Nadia Makram, are a particular target for radical Muslims. In
2011, she was kidnapped during a church service. Since then, her family has had
no contact with her anymore.
Although the family
knows who did it, the police do not help them. "They even warned us not to
pursue the matter any further. I must accept that my daughter has been
kidnapped," says Nadia’s mother, filled with pain.
Particularly serious
consequences result from the forced conversion to Islam that is demanded of the
women who are kidnapped.
Lawyer Fayez reports
the case of the girl Jacqueline Ibrahim who was kidnapped and forced by
Salafists to declare her conversion to Islam before the Al-Azhar University.
"An example of the total disregard of her religion and convictions,"
says Fayez.
The Catholic Church is
now attempting to offer safe haven to the girls and women who are affected. In
Minya, the Coptic Catholic diocese maintains a house of refuge for girls who
had been kidnapped, where they are safe from their tormenters and can stay for
six months or longer.
Some girls have also
fled into the house to escape kidnapping.
Father Boulos Nasif,
who runs the house, explained to ACN, "Here the girls are looked after and
can speak about everything that has happened to them. We try to equip them to
find their place in society again."
But many Egyptian
Christian women face problems not only from radical Islam, but also within
their own community, as a visit to Cairo’s “garbage district” shows.
The smell here is
terrible. Trucks and donkey carts constantly deliver the trash generated by
Africa’s largest city. Goats, dogs and chickens search for anything edible
among the fly-infested rubbish heaps.
Amid the piles of
rotting domestic waste, plastic bottles, tires and other trash, people sit and
sort out the garbage. Pictures of the Madonna, crucifixes and images of Coptic
saints show that Christians are living here.
For generations,
Coptic Christians have disposed of some of the garbage from the perhaps twenty
million inhabitants of the megalopolis of Cairo. They are called Saballin,
garbage people.
They can make a
relatively good living from the work, at least better than in the villages of
Upper Egypt from which most of them come. Rania and Marina, 17 and 14 years
old, are growing up here in the almost exclusively Christian garbage district
of Mukattam. Their fathers also work in the garbage business. The two Coptic
Orthodox girls are friends.
"We are
constantly being harassed in a sexual way. Almost all men and boys do that
here. In most cases, I ignore it and go on my way. But on one occasion a boy of
about 18 in a neighboring Muslim district took matters too far. So I smacked
him. The people took my side and rebuked the boy. I was pleased about
that."
But courage like
Rania’s is not always rewarded. Marina knows this from personal experience.
"A Christian neighbor, about fifty years old, spoke to me in a very indecent
way. I defended myself and answered him back. But then he went to my father and
complained about my poor upbringing. My father took his side and beat me: a
girl must not behave so disrespectfully. His lack of understanding hurt me more
than the beating did."
Susi Magdy, a social
worker, knows of many such cases. Susi, a Coptic Orthodox Christian, works for
the Catholic Comboni Mission, and she herself lives in Mukattam.
"The people here
come from the rural districts of Upper Egypt and think in a very traditional
way. The difference between Muslims and Christians is not very great there. It
is very important not to bring shame on the family."
Therefore, in the
great majority of cases sexual abuse is hushed up. "Many girls are
molested or even raped by their brothers, cousins or uncles. But it is a taboo
subject within the extended family. Nobody goes to the police, or even to the
pastor. In any case no one would believe them. It would be said that the woman
had provoked it."
As well as sexual abuse,
physical violence also plays a major role. "My father beats my mother. It
happens again and again," says the 14-year-old Marina.
But the social worker
Susi is optimistic: "Here in this district, domestic violence is on the
decline. It is mainly a problem in the older generation.”
“In the past it was
socially acceptable for the husband to beat his wife. But the campaigns that we
and other organizations have run in the last few years are now starting to bear
fruit here."
Educational campaigns
against the circumcision of girls have also been successful in the district.
This form of mutilation is very widespread among both Muslims and Christians.
"In the
countryside it is also the rule among Christians. But here in this district,
the campaigns in recent years have put an end to this brutal practice,"
says Susi.
It is also social, not
religious, reasons that make it unacceptable to large parts of the rural
Christian population for girls and women to study and make a career, according
to Susi.
"Sadly there is
very little progress here. It is virtually impossible for a Christian girl from
a village to start a course of studies."
Just a few miles away,
in downtown Cairo, it is a different world. Here, in the German Catholic girls’
school near Tahrir Square, the better-off classes send their children to
lessons. Every day, buses from their well-kept districts bring the girls to the
school, which is run by the Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo.
Nada is 17 and a
Coptic Orthodox Christian. Next year she will take her university entrance
exam. And then she wants to study literature or psychology, she doesn’t exactly
know which yet. But she definitely wants to go abroad for a time.
"For us women,
many things have changed for the better since the revolution in 2011. People’s
way of thinking has changed. Under Mubarak, women’s rights campaigners had no
chance to express themselves openly. This has now changed."
Her fellow pupils
agree. "The women have lost their fear of fighting for their rights,"
says the Catholic Helena, also 17 years old. She wants to study art.
Nada, like the social
worker Susi, is convinced that the position of women in Egypt largely depends
on social status and less on religion. There is a wide gulf between town and
country, she says.
"I do not feel
any restrictions, either from my parents or among my circle of friends, on
account of being a woman and a Christian. They are all educated and
open-minded.”
“It is the same for us
here at school. The majority of girls are Muslims. But there are no problems.
We are like sisters."
But her 16-year-old
Protestant fellow student Nadine, who wants to go abroad later to study
business, recounts the bad experiences of her mother.
"My mother is a
teacher. At the school where she teaches, she has to fight very hard because
she is a Christian. Again and again she is asked why she is not wearing a
headscarf."
Christian women’s lack
of a headscarf results in girls being constantly approached in the street in an
indecent way.
"Because we
Christians do not wear a headscarf, many boys and men think we are easy prey.
We are used to that. Nobody takes it seriously," says the 15-year-old
Sheri. "It also largely depends on the district you are in."
But her friend Helena,
16, sees it as a growing problem. "In my opinion, sexual harassment has
increased overall. I believe that it is associated with the internet and
television, where sex is a constant topic. It rubs off on people."
But the social norms
of a conservative country even impose restrictions on educated women and girls.
"My brother can bicycle through the district without any problems. I would
not be able to do that.”
“In some parts of
Cairo, a woman on a bicycle would be pelted with stones," Nada says.
"I hope the day will come where I can ride wherever I want, just like
him."
For many years, Aid to
the Church in Need has supported projects by the Catholic Church in Egypt
devoted to promoting the dignity of women.
With picture of a scene from Mukattam, an area
where mostly Coptic Christians recycle the garbage of Cairo: (© ACN)
Editor’s Notes:
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