Inas El-Degheidy is supposed to be a woman who empowers others. As a director and public figure, she has often been seen as someone who challenges societal norms and advocates for women’s rights.

But her recent comments on harassment have shattered that image. Instead of using her platform to support victims and push for change, El-Degheidy chose to blame women for the actions of their harassers.

During her appearance on “Al-Qarar” with Nadia Al-Zoubi on Al-Ghad channel, she stated that “the woman is responsible” for harassment and suggested that if a woman just slapped the harasser, it would “end there.” These remarks are not only out of touch, but they also perpetuate dangerous stereotypes that set back the fight against harassment.

Dear Inas El-Degheidy,

You are a woman, a director, and someone who has long been seen as a figure of empowerment for women in Egypt. That’s why it’s so disheartening—and frankly, infuriating—to hear the comments you made about harassment during your appearance on “Al-Qarar” with Nadia Al-Zoubi on Al-Ghad channel. Your claim that “the woman is responsible” for harassment and that a woman should “slap the harasser and it would end there” is not just misguided—it’s shockingly out of touch and, frankly, embarrassing. As a society, we should be moving forward, not regressing to harmful, outdated stereotypes.

It’s 2024, yet here we are, still grappling with the tired, dangerous narrative that women are to blame for the actions of men. Let me be clear: harassment is never about what a woman is wearing, saying, or doing. It is a deliberate choice made by the harasser. This is not a matter of debate; it’s a simple, undeniable fact.

Egypt already has a hard enough time battling the epidemic of harassment without this kind of nonsense being thrown into the mix. Every day, women in our country face the threat of harassment simply for existing in public spaces. Instead of supporting victims and working toward meaningful solutions, your comments only serve to make things worse. And if we take your logic to its inevitable conclusion—what about child harassment? Is that somehow the child’s fault too? Victim-blaming is not just wrong; it’s downright dangerous.

Your remarks dismiss the experiences of countless women who have been harassed despite doing everything “right.” Harassment is not about women playing “games” or “provoking” men. It’s about a lack of respect, a desire for power, and a disregard for boundaries—none of which are the victim’s fault.

What’s most infuriating is how this rhetoric shifts the burden away from the perpetrator and onto the victim, giving harassers a free pass while shaming women into silence. This mentality needs to be challenged and eradicated, not given a platform.

We should be focusing on educating men not to harass, not telling women how to avoid it. Blaming women for men’s bad behavior is a cop-out, plain and simple. It’s time to stop perpetuating harmful ideas like these and start focusing on what really matters: holding harassers accountable and supporting victims, not shaming them.