Egyptian TV presenter suspended over sexual assault comments

A TV presenter who appeared to justify a sexual assault taking place during President Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi's inauguration on Sunday has been suspended on the same day the president paid a visit to the alleged victim in the hospital.

As the celebrations took place on Sunday evening, a correspondent on Tahrir TV channel began to explain that sexual assaults were taking place in Tahrir Square.  New anchor Maha Bahnassy, who was laughing in the background, was heard to say "the people are having a good time."

Tahrir TV apologised for the comment this week and said it is committed to defending women's rights and raising awareness about sexual harassment, Al Ahram reported. Bahnassy will be temporarily replaced by other hosts.

On Wednesday, President Sisi visited the 19-year-old alleged victim who remains in the hospital.

"I have come to tell you and every Egyptian woman that I am sorry," Sisi said. "I am apologizing to every Egyptian woman... I tell the judiciary that our honour is being violated on the streets and that is not right. It is not unacceptable, even if it is one case."

Some have expressed surprise at Sisi’s comments given that during the protests in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution, Sisi is one of the people who publicly defended the controversial “virginity tests” for female protesters who had been arrested.

Graphic video of the sexual assault, in which the woman was allegedly attacked by a group of men, emerged on YouTube last Sunday and quickly went viral. On Monday, seven men were arrested for the attack.

On Tuesday, former interim president Adly Mansour issued a decree that made sexual harrassment a punishable crime for the first time in the country's history. Those convicted will receive a minimum six-month prison sentence and a fine of up to 3,000 Egyptian pounds ($420).

Cases of sexual violence are commonplace in Egypt, with the “I Saw Harassment” activists group documenting five cases of assault by mobs on Sunday evening alone. 99.3 percent of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment, according to a UN study published last year.

Condemnation of the attack has been widespread on social media with calls for the harsher treatment of offenders.

More than 22,000 Facebook users have signed up to take part in "Walk like an Egyptian woman", an event scheduled to be held in Cairo this Saturday.