#Ismaani – A Hashtag for Women from the Arab States

On the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the United Nations Regional Gender Theme Group in the Arab States region launched #Ismaani, the Arabic language version of #HearMeToo, which was the official global hashtag for the 2018 16 days campaign, spearheaded by the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres.

The purpose of #Ismaani is to galvanise women and men from the region to shine a spotlight on cases of sexual harassment and abuse and call for effective measures to address these in accordance with international and regional human rights frameworks and standards. #Ismaani is a complement to #MeToo, which has gone viral on global social media since October 2017 and which has inspired thousands of women around the world to tell their story, with hashtags such as #BalanceTonPorc, #AnaKamen, and more.

Speaking to the producers of the podcast Hidden Women, Egyptian human rights activist Mariam Kerollos recalled that ever since the mid-2000, there has been growing awareness and concern about women’s safety and physical integrity in the public space. “In 2008, Noha El Ostaz was the first woman in Egypt to file a sexual harassment case in court. Even though she was harshly criticized and even accused of treason, she eventually won the case and her aggressor was sentenced, opening the way for other women to speak up,” said Mariam.

“The global #MeToo has changed people’s perception of the affected women. They can now speak up and be believed and taken seriously”, she added.

The aim of using an Arabic language version of this hashtag is to encourage Arabic-speaking women to participate in this important conversation around harassment, protection of fundamental rights and freedom to engage in the public space. 

“#Ismaani is one contribution to break the silence around harassment in the region”, said Mohammad Naciri, Regional Director of UN Women in the Arab States. “We were glad to see many women seize it to denounce the harmful practices that they are exposed to”, he added.

To learn more about this topic, click here to listen to the Hidden Women podcast supported by UN Women Regional Office for the Arab States.