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On December 11, 2015, Egyptian TV host Duaa Salah appeared on TV with her face made up to appear battered and bruised to protest violence against women. Two weeks after the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Salah said that "unfortunately, many Egyptian actors and actresses forgot this day" and "forgot to appear and talk about our rights - women's rights." Domestic violence remains a severe problem in Egypt, she said in the show, which aired on Al-Nahar TV, and "unfortunately, some are still too ashamed to talk about this."
Duaa Salah: "May I ask you a question? May I ask every woman watching us a question? May I ask the men – regardless of their age – who are watching us a question? How many of us have stayed at home so that no one would see us like this? How many (women) have not gone to university, to school, or to work, so that people would not see this spectacle? How many women have been brought up with violence at home? Beatings from their father, or from their brother, and sometimes, I'm sad to say, from their mothers as well. How many women encountered, unfortunately, after their wedding and their dream of a future home, another form of violence – physical violence – of a man towards his wife? In our Arab societies and countries, one woman in seven is a battered wife, or a woman suffering from physical violence. I use the term 'beating,' which is a tough and saddening word. Anyone watching us now – could you have beaten your daughter when she was small? Maybe you don't remember, but she does. How many times have you beaten your sister? Maybe you don't remember, but she does.
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"Unfortunately, in (Arab) countries, we have no stringent law to prevent the domestic violence experienced by young girls.
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"37% of women in the world suffer from sexual assault. It is not only beatings, but sexual assault as well. Unfortunately, there are 700 million girls who get married before the age of 15. This is a tragedy.
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"Today, I am talking about women, and I hope that our Eastern societies will pay attention. On the International Day (for the Elimination of Violence against Women), actresses all over the world appeared the way I look now. I haven't invented anything. But unfortunately, many Egyptian actors and actresses forgot this day. They forgot to appear and talk about our rights – women's rights.
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"In our Arab societies, we did not see tourist attractions lit up in orange, in support of the (anti-violence) campaign. We saw nothing of the kind. We did not see actresses talking about such things. Some admitted that they had been beaten and humiliated by their husband. Many women have understood that when they reach such a situation, they must demand their legal rights. But unfortunately, some are still too ashamed to talk about this."
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