Shame Less مش عيب

‘عيب’ is an Arabic word and expression meaning shame or shame on you. Sexual harassment is a widespread and pressing problem in Egypt, as the country ranks second in the world after Afghanistan in terms of this issue. The United Nations survey in 2013 found that 99.3 % of Egyptian girls and women reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment in their lifetime. 


Being an Egyptian woman, photographer, and having been verbally and sexually harassed in the streets, at home, and at work in Cairo, I am enraged by the problem's prevalence and normalization. One of the underlying problems that prevent women from speaking up and reporting assault is victim-blaming and shaming, which brings continuous trauma. I am drawn towards shedding light on and fighting the stigma around reporting assault and opening up about such experiences. The perpetrators are the ones who should be ashamed of themselves, not the other way around. 


In مش عيب Shame Less, I am attempting to challenge and dismantle the stigma around speaking up and reporting an assault, by getting our stories and voices heard. Cultures of silence exist – it’s rarely the result of one individual’s actions. As Einstein said: “If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity”. In this project, I hope the work I do is deep and meaningful beyond the photographs. I am trying to create a catalyst for conversation, both about and with the human community that I am part of.

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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I am now 64 years old, when I was in university, I used to live in a hostel. At the end of each week, I used to go to my grandparents house. One day, while I was coming back from my grandfather house to the hostel, I got into a bus full of people. One of the men on the bus started moving towards me and standing very close and stuck himself to me. I felt something abnormal was happening. I felt ashamed of what happened to me.

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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I was in the street bending over to pay a cab driver through the window, a man walking by touched my ass with his finger. I exploded into tears and went up to my house in silence.

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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While I was walking alone in a long street, a man in his fifties started following me with his car for a long period and making hand gestures for me to get into the car with him. I was afraid so I crossed to the other side of the road, so he went around with his car and continued to follow me saying “come in and I will satisfy you and give you what you want”. In fear of him getting close to me, I tried to walk away from the car and deeper into the pavement.

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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While I was driving my car in Sphinx square, a microbus driver started cutting me off and saying, “come here so I would take care of you”. He came out of the microbus window and started to hit his car door aggressively with his hands. I continued driving until I saw a police checkpoint, thank god, and then I stopped and told him “come here then”, he was afraid from the police and drove away.

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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It is impossible to think that any woman living in Egypt will one day walk in the streets without being verbally or visually harassed. It is extremely difficult to believe that the places that where once safe are no longer possible for humans to safely live in, more like for animals, and a source of fear for women. So any woman living in Egypt is living a desperate and miserable life because the basic forms of human rights do not exist for her. I want to live!

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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In a typically normal day, I ordered an Uber for me and my friend to go out. While we were with the driver in the car, I started to notice changes in the movement of his hands and legs that were odd and very abnormal. I started getting worried and afraid so I texted my friend on “whatsapp” because she wasn’t aware, I texted her saying “I want to get out”. She started getting worried and shaking when she looked at him and realised that he unbuttoned his pants and started touching himself in a very inappropriate way. I was supposed to feel much safer than that, no one should ever feel this fear and shame.

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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I was coming out of my car with my sister under our house where there was a group of boys hanging around. My sister wasn’t vailed at the time, she had highlights in her hair, and wearing a dress. I was afraid that they would harass her. To my surprise, they started calling me names and making fun of my conservative clothes. They were very loud and clapping their hands.

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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While I was in university, I was walking toward the train station with a friend heading home in the afternoon. An old man was walking his young daughter back from school bumped into me and grabbed my chest. Instead of supporting us, people in the street started saying “let him go.. you are proving that you are not well behaved”.

© Lina Geoushy - Image from the Shame Less مش عيب photography project
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I was at my friend’s house. While I was in the kitchen with her mother and father, suddenly he started tickling me around my waist. Some people might say that he is an old man and just kidding, but no, for me this is harassment.

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