{"id":17535,"date":"2025-06-02T17:13:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T15:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=17535"},"modified":"2026-10-08T01:38:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T23:38:48","slug":"sudanese-refugee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/sudanese-refugee\/","title":{"rendered":"After a Sudanese Woman\u2019s Killing: Refugee Women in Egypt Struggle for Protection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asmaa Mansour Siam<\/strong>, a Sudanese refugee living in 6th of October City, was found killed in her apartment in mid-May 2025. A relative who spoke to Zawia3 on condition of anonymity said she had been raped before she was killed. The account below reflects the family\u2019s testimony; Zawia3 has not reviewed a published investigation report establishing every detail.<\/p>\n

According to the relative, Asmaa began the day by taking her daughter to nursery and shopping for household supplies. After returning home, she admitted a visitor whom she initially believed to be a relative.<\/p>\n

The relative says the man attacked Asmaa as she prepared to offer him refreshments. Her body was later found in the bedroom, covered with a prayer mat.<\/p>\n

When Asmaa failed to collect her daughter, nursery staff contacted the child\u2019s father. He collected the girl and took her home. According to the relative, the child entered the apartment ahead of him and discovered her mother\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

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The family says a suspect was arrested, but that it had received little information about the investigation and was unable to retrieve even essential belongings for Asmaa\u2019s daughter after officers brought the suspect to reconstruct the crime.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The relative also alleges that police beat Asmaa\u2019s husband and brother after arriving at the scene. This allegation has not been independently established from an official investigation record.<\/p>\n

\"Asmaa
Asmaa\u2019s death certificate. Source: supplied to Zawia3.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The family rejected rumours circulated on a local news page that attributed derogatory claims about Asmaa to the suspect. Her relative described them as false and an attempt to tarnish the victim\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n

For Asmaa\u2019s daughter, the consequences continue. The relative describes severe distress, persistent fear that the attacker will return, and an inability to be alone even for ordinary daily activities. The child\u2019s need for support is part of the loss the family is now trying to navigate.<\/p>\n

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Violence\u2014and barriers to reporting it<\/h2>\n

A November 2022 Human Rights Watch investigation<\/a> documented 11 incidents of sexual violence in Egypt between 2016 and 2022 involving six adult refugees or asylum seekers and an 11-year-old girl from Sudan and Yemen. The adults, including a transgender woman, reported rape, and four described repeated attacks.<\/p>\n

The organisation reported that three women were turned away when seeking to register complaints, while three others felt too intimidated to report. One said a police officer sexually harassed her when she sought to report rape.<\/p>\n

Refugees interviewed by Zawia3 describe similar obstacles: insecure residence status, fear of detention or removal, and officers refusing to record complaints. Their accounts suggest that the risk of an assault can be compounded by uncertainty over what will happen if they seek help.<\/p>\n

International figures require careful distinction. The UN\u2019s 2024 Gender Snapshot<\/a> reported a 50% rise in verified conflict-related sexual violence in 2023 compared with 2022, with women and girls accounting for 95% of victims. Those are global figures, not statistics specifically about Egypt or refugees living there.<\/p>\n

In Egypt, the 2015 Economic Cost of Gender-Based Violence Survey<\/a>, conducted by CAPMAS with UNFPA and the National Council for Women, estimated that approximately 7.8 million women experienced violence annually. It is a historical survey estimate, not a new measurement for 2025.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI felt humiliated twice\u201d<\/h2>\n

Mariam<\/strong>, a 32-year-old Syrian refugee living in Cairo\u2019s Ain Shams district, says she was sexually harassed by her landlord when she went upstairs to hang washing.<\/p>\n

She had lived with her husband and children in a small ground-floor apartment. The older landlord had initially seemed respectable, she recalls. When he approached and tried to touch her, she pushed him away and shouted.<\/p>\n

According to Mariam, he responded by threatening eviction if she spoke out. She did not tell her husband, fearing a confrontation that could cost the family its only affordable home.<\/p>\n

Since then, she says, she has avoided going out alone and wears extra layers even within the building. She did not report the incident because she believed doing so could expose the family to greater insecurity.<\/p>\n

Amna<\/strong>, a 27-year-old Sudanese refugee in Faisal, Giza, says a young man on a motorcycle verbally and physically harassed her in a side street, then fled. She tried unsuccessfully to follow him before going to a police station.<\/p>\n

She says an officer asked whether she had witnesses or the motorcycle\u2019s registration number. When she said no, he told her nothing could be done and instructed her to change her route and pay attention to her clothes.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI felt humiliated twice: once by the attacker and once by the officer who was supposed to protect me,\u201d Amna tells Zawia3.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She left in tears and resolved not to go out alone again. Having fled violence and destruction in Sudan, she says she still does not feel adequately protected.<\/p>\n

Naglaa<\/strong>, a 24-year-old Yemeni refugee in Giza\u2019s Haram district, describes a different encounter. A neighbour referred her to a small office offering work. When she explained that her residence paperwork was still being processed, the man interviewing her suggested that her need for employment meant she would be willing to do anything.<\/p>\n

She left immediately, feeling frightened and disgusted. Days later, she says, he followed her in the street and directed insulting remarks at her. She considered reporting him, but a friend warned that her unresolved residence status might lead police to treat her as a suspect rather than a victim.<\/p>\n

Fatma<\/strong>, a 30-year-old refugee from South Sudan, asked that her neighbourhood not be identified. While working as a waitress, she says, she tolerated her manager\u2019s comments because she feared losing her income.<\/p>\n

One evening, he asked her to clean his office after work. She says he closed the door and tried to assault her. Her screams brought colleagues, who supported her and accompanied her to the police.<\/p>\n

But she says the questioning focused on what she had worn and why she had entered the office alone. \u201cThe questions made me feel guilty, as though I were the one at fault.\u201d A few days later, the restaurant owner dismissed her for causing problems, she says. Looking for another job, she found herself labelled \u201cthe woman who complains\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Legal rights, practical obstacles<\/h2>\n

Hala Douma<\/strong>, a lawyer and legal researcher who heads the Horreya law office, says the available procedures depend on how an offence is legally classified. Physical assault, sexual violence and online abuse do not all follow identical legal routes.<\/p>\n

She explains that some offences require a complaint from the victim personally. That can become a serious practical obstacle for people afraid to approach police because their immigration or residence documents are incomplete.<\/p>\n

Other incidents can be reported by a witness or third party, she says, but in practice officers may insist that the victim appear. She warns that survivors without secure status can fear detention or removal when reporting an unrelated crime.<\/p>\n

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A survivor\u2019s residence status does not erase the offence committed against her. Douma says crimes occurring in Egypt should be investigated regardless of whether the victim has completed her residence procedures.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The difficulty, she argues, is the gap between that principle and the experience of victims trying to register a complaint. Unstable status can reduce their ability to begin proceedings or secure effective access to justice.<\/p>\n

There are legal provisions protecting confidentiality. Law 177 of 2020 added Article 113 bis to the Criminal Procedure Code to protect identifying information about victims of specified offences. Calls for stronger, comprehensive protection from domestic violence must therefore be distinguished from the claim that no confidentiality rule exists. The question is also whether existing safeguards are applied effectively.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch has urged Egyptian authorities to investigate rape allegations thoroughly and ensure that police record complaints as an initial step towards justice. Its findings highlight how poverty and insecure status can leave survivors vulnerable to offenders who expect little accountability.<\/p>\n

A 2017 Thomson Reuters Foundation poll<\/a> ranked Cairo worst among 19 megacities surveyed on women\u2019s circumstances. This was a poll of experts\u2019 perceptions across several issues, not a statistical ranking of every city in the world.<\/p>\n

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When residence paperwork becomes a barrier to protection<\/h2>\n

Halim Heneish<\/strong>, a consultant with the Refugees Platform, says difficulties obtaining or renewing residence permits have long restricted refugees\u2019 ability to exercise their rights.<\/p>\n

Police usually request identification when someone seeks to file a complaint. According to Heneish, some officers do not accept UNHCR documentation on its own and insist on a valid residence permit, leaving people waiting for paperwork afraid to approach them.<\/p>\n

He says the platform has documented detentions involving people holding UNHCR documents or valid appointments with the agency. Registration and residence procedures are distinct, and delays can expose people to uncertainty despite their efforts to complete them.<\/p>\n

In assault cases, the platform sometimes sends a lawyer to try to submit a complaint on the survivor\u2019s behalf. Yet obtaining a formal power of attorney can itself be difficult when the required identity or residence documents are missing.<\/p>\n

Heneish says some police stations refuse to register complaints from refugees without valid permits, a practice he regards as unlawful. Fear of approaching police is not confined to refugees, he adds, but insecure legal status can make the consequences much more severe.<\/p>\n

He cites a case from May in which, according to his account, a Sudanese family reported a girl missing but police took no action before she was subsequently found dead. The example informs his view that refugees do not consistently experience police stations as places of safety.<\/p>\n

Heneish believes this lack of accessible protection encourages fraud, workplace exploitation and assault. He estimates that those able to reach his organisation or a lawyer represent no more than 10% of actual victims. That is his assessment from casework, not a population-wide statistical measurement.<\/p>\n

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At the end of March 2025, UNHCR had registered approximately 942,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt. The size of that population makes accessible protection from violence an urgent public concern.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

UNHCR\u2019s dated population factsheet<\/a> provides the historical count. Sudanese people formed the largest registered group, followed by Syrians, alongside communities from Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and other countries. Many live in Greater Cairo and Alexandria and face difficulties meeting their needs or accessing formal employment.<\/p>\n

The 1951 Refugee Convention centres on a well-founded fear of persecution linked to race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and an inability or unwillingness to seek the home country\u2019s protection. The broader public discussion of refuge also encompasses people escaping war and violence; the legal categories should not obscure their need for safety.<\/p>\n

Asmaa\u2019s killing and the testimonies collected here expose a recurring problem: women who fled danger can face violence again while finding it difficult to secure protection or redress. The survivors\u2019 accounts call for complaints to be taken seriously, access to legal support and investigations that hold perpetrators accountable without turning victims\u2019 status into a barrier to justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The killing of Asmaa Mansour Siam exposes wider fears among refugee women: sexual violence, insecure residence status and barriers to reporting abuse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[390],"tags":[],"kateb":[710],"class_list":["post-17535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-rights","kateb-zawia3-com"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/\u0646\u0633\u062e\u0629-\u0645\u0646-\u0627\u0644\u0633\u0648\u062f\u0627\u0646-.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17536,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17535\/revisions\/17536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17535"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=17535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}