Citroën removes ad that Egypt critics say normalises sexual harassment

An advertisement by French carmaker Citroën has stirred up controversy in Egypt after activists said it promoted sexual harassment in a country where the phenomenon is rampant. The ad by the Egyptian branch of Citroën, released last month, shows popular Egyptian singer and actor Amr Diab driving the latest version of the company’s C4, before coming to an abrupt stop in front of a woman crossing the street. Diab looks at the woman and snaps a picture of her from a camera fixed in the car’s rear-view mirror. The singer is seen smiling as the woman’s image appears on his phone. Both are then seen together as if on a date. Although apparently intended to feature the car’s inbuilt camera, the ad has drawn criticism of the carmaker and the 60-year-old singer, who is seen as a role model for many across the Arab world. Taking a picture of a woman without her consent is creepy. You're enabling sexual harassment. @Citroen @amrdiabpic.twitter.com/0fkYmQfNQV — 𓆃 Reem Abdellatif - ريم عبداللطيف (@Reem_Abdellatif) December 29, 2021 Under pressure from the backlash online, Citroën Egypt offered an apology and removed the 100-second commercial. “We deeply regret and understand the negative interpretation of this part of this film. With our business partner in Egypt, we took the decision to withdraw this commercial from all Citroën channels and we present our sincere apologies to all offended communities by this film,” it said in a statement. There was no comment from Diab, who still has the video on his social media accounts with tens of millions of followers. Japanese perverts ‘bored’ by pandemic drive surge in upskirt photography Sexual harassment, mostly ranging from catcalls to occasional pinching or grabbing, is rampant in Egypt, a conservative Muslim country with more than 100 million people. Speak Up, an Egyptian feminist initiative, called the add “creepy” and said it promoted “photographing girls casually on the street without their consent only because he likes them”. “Everything can be a double-edged sword. In this advert, @Citroen #Egypt chose to show the negative aspects of their C4′s new features, from harming people’s privacy to harassing girls in the street! #MeToo,” a user named The Lady said in a post on Twitter. .@Citroen #Egypt admits they got it wrong with their creepy advert where @amrdiab nearly hits a woman with his car & then takes a photo of her apparently without her consent using a new in-built camera in the car. Egypt has notoriously high levels of sexual harassment pic.twitter.com/gqGjtZfmHA — Bel Trew (@Beltrew) December 30, 2021 Feminist Sabah Khodir lashed out at the carmaker, accusing it of exploiting women’s struggle against gender-based violence “as an opportunity to sell vehicles”. She called for Hany Shaker, head of the Egyptian Musician’s Union, to launch an investigation into Diab’s participation in the ad. “I wonder what Hany Shaker … thinks about Amr Diab promoting sexual harassment in the new @citroen commercial, or is that not against Egypt’s cultural values?” she said in an Instagram post. Beheaded, groped, beaten: violence against Asian women at alarming levels The magnitude of Egypt’s sexual harassment and violence problem came to light in the years following the 2011 popular uprising that overthrew long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak, when mass rape and sexual assault occurred during several protests. A 2017 poll conducted by UN Women and Promundo, a non-governmental organisation, found that nearly 60 per cent of Egyptian women say they have been sexually harassed, and nearly 65 per cent of men acknowledge harassing women, though they mainly admitted to ogling. In recent years, organised efforts by civil society to combat the phenomenon encouraged women to be more outspoken about it, despite the insistence of a large sector in society that it does not existence. Many women, inspired by the #MeToo movement, also spoke out on social media about the practice. Authorities have increased penalties for sexual harassment in its penal code, making the practice a felony with up to five years in prison.