Egypt travel advice
Many ladies travel solo in Egypt and a lot of have a great time in the nation. Traveling alone as a lady though is unfathomable to numerous Egyptians so anticipate a lot of attention. A few of this will be welcome; as a lone feminine you are much more likely, than a single male or traveling few, to-be befriended by families and local females and gather invites to people's homes. Regrettably though, you are also more likely to experience some unwanted interest too.
Egypt has actually a negative track record of sexual harassment. Generally, this will come in the form of wearying amounts of cat-calling, declarations of love, leering or being used outside, and minor groping in crowds or closed-in spaces such as buses or taxis. This may all put one thing of a dampener on your own moves.
Street harassment is an issue for Egyptian women. In a recently available study completed by Egyptian NGO HarassMap, a staggering 99.3% of Egyptian women claimed that they was indeed subjected to some type of harassment.
Attitudes though tend to be changing. Intimate harassment ended up being made a criminal offence in Egypt in Summer 2014 plus September 2014 Cairo University took the effort to formally follow an anti-sexual-harassment policy on campus. Both these unprecedented steps tend to be a giant step forward in recognising a problem that has been brushed under the carpet for decades. In saying that, Egypt features a lengthy road traveling in tackling its harassment issues head on.
Adopting Suitable Attitude
It really is easier said than done, but ignoring many verbal harassment is usually the best policy. Not many will continue following or cat-calling for more than some metres if you act as when you yourself haven't noticed all of them. Go and work confidently; persistent harassers often latch onto those who look like they don't really understand what they may be doing.
Most importantly, never presume that each and every guy who would like to hit up a discussion is going to truly get you. Egyptians are usually gregarious, obviously hospitable and intensely available to speaking with strangers. While the majority of Egyptians just who operate in tourism tend to be male, you'll overlook some great neighborhood communications if you should be also afraid to talk to all of them.
Avoiding Trouble
Egypt is an extremely conservative nation by nature and this is not the place to be breaking on your hot pants and strappy tank tops. You may stand out less like a sore thumb in the event that you dress modestly, addressing arms, cleavage and knees. Tees (with a sleeve that addresses top arms), long pants and long skirts not only support to deflect undesired interest but also assist in encouraging interactions with local women, several of who wouldn't approach travellers putting on skimpier outfit.