I was walking along the beach when a fisherman told me that the next few kilometers were a military zone. He advised me against walking there. I appreciated his advice and decided to shift my walk to the main street.

I wanted to walk straight in a quiet area but the same fisherman who was then leaving on his motorbike with two young boys, warned me of walking this route. I wondered why not and pointed out that some “guys” were walking this way! He answered that it wasn’t a good street to walk for “me”. I asked whether he meant it wasn’t good for a woman to walk it. He said, “Yes, there are some men who smoke weed over there and they might harass you”. I thanked him and turned back home.

I was in the mood to continue my walk. The weather was cooling down. It wasn’t dark yet and some “men” were walking in this direction so it wasn’t a kind of deserted or dangerous route, in my opinion. However, I would never risk and walk down there after his warning to me. No, I’m not asking for trouble. I’m trying to keep a low profile.

If something bad happened to me, people would blame me, not the offender. Why did she walk there? Why did she walk on her own? Why was she wearing a dress? Why was she wearing a dress that showed half of her legs? Why wasn’t she wearing a hijab? Why was she in Safaga, far away from her family in Luxor?

I’m not only a woman but I’m a hard-of-hearing woman. What if there was an auditory sign warning that I couldn’t hear and accordingly, I wouldn’t react; either to run away or to scream to save my life.

When I walk alone sometimes, I don’t hear what some men say while ogling me. I try not to overthink of what they say but I always keep eyes in the back of my head. I also try to keep a straight face so I don’t give off the wrong impression with smiling. So imagine the impacts of being extra cautious, worried and alert all the time on our physical and mental health! In my case, hearing impairment is an added reason to feel exhausted fast.

A few days ago, I was reading through some posts and comments on Cassie Ventura’s case. Instead of asking why Diddy abused her, some followers did blame her, wondered why she didn’t say something sooner or why she didn’t leave him.

How can we, as women, who have suffered abuse and harassment speak up when we read comments like these? How can we, ordinary women, tell what we’ve been put through when others react like that to a celebrity’s assault? How can we feel confident to walk through streets on our own?

I know this is not only a problem in our “poor” countries but even in Western countries which claim to be civilized with high standards of living and freedom.

We deserve to feel safe whenever and wherever we go. We don’t deserve to live in fear of what men can take for granted and enjoy doing without question.