Egyptian Journalist Challenges Islamist's Claim That France and Germany Run Separate Subway Cars for Men and Women

In a TV debate on coeducation in Egyptian schools, Islamist Sameh Abdel Hamid called to adopt the Al-Azhar model and instate separate schools for girls and boys in Egypt. In the course of the debate, which aired on Dream TV on March 19, Abdel Hamid insisted that France and Germany had separate carriages in the subway for men and women, in order to prevent sexual harassment, despite journalist Sharif Al-Shubashi's objection that "you can't say just anything. I could also invent stuff and people might believe it."

Egyptian Islamist Sameh Abdel Hamid: I have presented, once again, a request to the Minister of Education  to have separate schools.

Moderator: You want to prevent coeducation of boys and girls?

Sameh Abdel Hamid: Yes, there should be separate schools for boys... Does this approach stem only from the shari'a? No, it's a modern approach too. In many countries, male and female students are separated.

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I have seen an American report about adolescents in all-girls schools. An 18-year-old in one such school said: "I don't need to wear makeup, I don't need to worry about my boyfriend being at school with me, or anything. I go around with my girlfriends, sit in class, all very natural. Meanwhile, my friends who attend mixed schools need to make sure that they look good to the boys and worry about their clothes." I call to adopt the model of Al-Azhar University, where there are separate faculties for male and female students. It all works fine. On the other hand, Cairo University, where there is serious mingling of the sexes, is ranked at the tail-end of the university list.

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In France, Germany, and such countries, they have separate cars in the subway for men and women, to prevent harassment.

Egyptian Journalist Sharif Al-Shubashi: No, they don't. This is not true, and they do not have separate schools either. I did not interrupt you, but in the countries known as industrialized and progressive, there is no such thing. You can't say just anything. I could also invent stuff and people might believe it. This is simply untrue.

Sameh Abdel Hamid: Even in Germany, they have separate subway cars for men and women.

Sharif Al-Shubashi: No, they don't!

Sameh Abdel Hamid: Yes, they do!

Sharif Al-Shubashi: This is not true. There is no such thing.

Sameh Abdel Hamid: Yes, there is.

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If you have a daughter, put a hijab on her and send her to an all-girls school. There was this mother from Alexandria who complained that...

Moderator: Why not just put girls in a cage?

Sameh Abdel Hamid: No, we put them with other girls, where they can play freely. We put the boy in the society of other boys. Why put them together and have all those problems?

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Sharif Al-Shubashi: When we say that a five-year-old boy sexually harassed a girl... What else would you call it? Using this term points to a certain mentality, a certain ideology, prevalent in society.

Sameh Abdel Hamid: What would you call it when a boy kisses a girl, then?

Sharif Al-Shubashi: It's called "a boy kissing a girl." It's not sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is an entirely different thing.

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