A survey conducted by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights showed that as many as 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women have experienced some form of sexual harassment or unwarranted sexual advances in Egypt in public. Noha Rushdi Saleh, a 27-year-old well-known film director, became one of those women when she was persistently harassed and groped in the streets of Cairo by an Egyptian man, Sharif Gommaa. He trailed her in his car, and at one point grabbed her breasts so hard that she fell to the ground.

Though the country's criminal code outlines a prison sentence and fine for sexual abusers, never before has Egypt issued a prison sentence for sexual harassment of a woman in public. The harasser faces three years in jail with hard labor, and Noha will receive 5,001 Egyptian pounds ($895) in compensation.

Baby steps.