ASMAA FATHI

 Cairo- Working women are subjected to many gender-based discriminations such as low wages, mobbing, oppression, violence, harassment at workplace. Bearing the primary burdens of housework, childcare and other family responsibilities, the working women struggle for their invisible labor.

NuJINHA spoke to Egyptian journalist Eman Samir and psychologist Hala Hammad to mark the International Workers’ Day, May Day.

‘Women are confined to home’

Eman Samir, a journalist based in Egypt’s Asyūṭ Governorate, thinks women are subjected to many gender-based discriminations at workplace due to their gender. One day, one of her male colleagues told her, “Get married and stay at home.” Noting that the patriarchal mentality tries to confine women to home, Eman Samir said, “Men think as if we are not obliged to look after anyone, as if we do not have to work. Our presence at the workplace is seen as a surplus. Such an approach prevents us from acting and producing freely. Now, I do not want to see my colleagues. I see them only when we have meetings.”

 ‘Women want safe workplaces’

“Many jobs are reserved for men,” Eman Samir said, “Women are subjected to psychological violence and violations by their male colleagues. Women want safe workplaces without gender-based discrimination.”

Eman Samir called on men to “respect women's right to go out their homes and the preferences of women. Children should be raised as individuals who will respect women's rights and will be more aware of women’s issues. Women are oppressed at workplaces, homes and in the public spaces. Women are subjected to violence, harassment and many more violations. Women need laws protecting their right to work.”

“Women feel more stress at work’

 Egyptian psychologist Hala Hammad thinks that the unsafe working environment, bullying, violations and gender-based discrimination at workplaces cause depression, anxiety and traumatic stress disorder in women. Underlining that there are still many factors that make the working environment unsafe for women, she said, “One of these factors is gender roles in society. In addition, women are fired because they are pregnant, breastfeeding or have a child. I think performance and productivity, not gender, should be prioritized in workplaces. Women should know their rights to protect themselves from gender-based discrimination.”