Egyptian woman reportedly commits suicide after father's disbelief of alleged sex assault by nephew

In yet another shocking incident that sent shockwaves across Egypt this week, a 24-year-old woman reportedly took her own life over the weekend after her father refused to believe her account of suffering sexual abuse by her cousin at a young age.

In a suicide note she posted on her Facebook page, the young woman, named Alyaa Amer, wrote: "The son of my oldest parental uncle named…..sexually harassed me when I was young. [But] when I told my father, he didn't believe me. Bye."

Amer wrote the alleged perpetrator's full name in the note.

Shortly afterwards, she threw herself from the fifth floor and died immediately in a northern Beheira province village.

The New Arab could not independently verify the validity of the note or the Facebook account in question.

The prosecution general's office released a statement Monday evening in which it said the incident was "under investigation."

"No foul play has yet been revealed throughout the prosecution’s investigations… [or] via the inspection of surveillance cameras available on the scene," the statement read, adding that her family members were interrogated and confirmed "differences between the deceased and her father."

The victim's family could not be reached for comment at the time of publishing.

Social media users pointed accusing fingers at the family's male figures, the father and the uncles, suggesting Amer was the victim of an honour crime.

A social media activist, who seemed to have known her in person, tweeted: "Alyaa didn't have any suicidal inclinations. On the contrary, she was confronting the domestic violence she had been subjected to by any means possible. She told us about her father's and his brothers' threats that they would… [throw her out of the balcony]."

26/11/2022
The date of my biggest loss alyaa Amer
علياء مكنش عندها اي ميول انتحارية بالعكس كانت بتواجهة العنف الاسري اللي كانت بتتعرضلة و كانت بتقف ضدة بأي طريقة علياء كانت بتحكيلنا عن تهدديات ابوها و اخواته ليها دا غير انهم قالولها قبل كدا " هنتكاتر عليكي و نرميكي من البلكونة "

— محمود هلال ☾ (@kossomelregala) November 27, 2022

"Her father claimed she committed suicide. [But] all her friends' [statements] and investigations indicate criminal suspicion," a Twitter user by the name 'Friday' posted, attaching a screenshot of her note.

علياء كتبت بوست تفضح فيه إبن عمها الكبير إنه إتحرش بيها وهي طفلة وذكرت إسمه وإنها لما حكت ل أبوها ماصدقهاش ، بعدها توصل مستشفى إيتاي البارود جثة هامدة ساقطة من الدور الخامس وأبوها بيدعي إنها إنتحرت ، كل صحابها والتحقيقات بتأكد وجود شبهة وإنها إترمت مانتحرتش ، علياء أبوها قتلها pic.twitter.com/cD4QIgXkyW

— فرايداي (@Fraaidey) November 27, 2022

In May, an Egyptian court sentenced three to 15 years in prison and two to five years following the suicide of a 17-year-old student who was blackmailed with doctored images.

The student, Bassant Khaled, committed suicide five months earlier after she was blackmailed over personal images that were shared online in a case that shocked Egypt. She too was not believed by her family.

Statistically, around 7.8 million Egyptian women undergo a form of gender-based violence every year, according to a UN survey released in 2015.

In recent years, women across Egypt have spoken out on social media about the issue of sexual harassment in the country.

Authorities have since increased penalties for sexual harassment - which is now punishable by up to five years in prison - and have also intensified efforts to combat harassment and aggressive touts at tourist sites.