What if the Egyptians including Christians, Muslims, jews, and atheists in addition to the tourists decided to follow the Salafis and wear the niqab? Will they be protected from sexual harassment. It is a tough question, but I will try to answer.
In the beginning of the nineteen century, an English orientalist named Sir Edward William Lane learned Arabic and claimed his conversion to Islam to be able to live among the Egyptians and collect the material of his book, printed in London in 1835 and entitled ‘Traditions and customs of modern Egyptians’
The book was a masterpiece in the presentation of information and wrote in detail in a full chapter on the clothes and fashion of Egyptians in their various sects. He mentioned that women used to wear identical cloth, yet in different colors. Muslim women wore white niqab, while non-Muslim women wore black niqab. He added that non-Muslim women dressed while niqab in secret in order to avoid sectarian discrimination, and possible harassment.
We return to the first question: will niqab prevent harassment in Egypt. The answer is no since they will impose different colors on each sect. This will enable them to target the other groups as much as they want.
