In June 2020 a new wave of feminist activism emerged in the Egyptian public sphere.1 Building on almost two decades of mobilization and organization against sexual harassment and assault, the new organizers are upper-middle- and upper-class Egyptians in their early twenties who politicize social networks to push the problem of sexual violence and women’s bodily integrity back into public discourse (Fayed 2021). Inspired by the global #MeToo movement, they built on its feminist discourse against sexual violence and its model of organization, relying heavily on social media as a tool for action to revitalize feminist activism in authoritarian Egypt (Khorshid 2021).
Nadeen Ashraf, a student at the American University in Cairo, started it all when she founded the Instagram account @assaultpolice. Her intention was to provide a space for people to share anonymous testimonies about Ahmed Bassam Zaky, an elite college student who had left a...
