Writer: Maram Mohammed
Arabic Translators: Sara Mandor and Menna Ahmed
Editor: Khaled Mohammed
I just wanted to start off this article by saying that if you’re a guy reading this, this is the perfect opportunity for you to learn what the women around you are constantly subjected to. This is a perfect opportunity for you to spread awareness amongst your male friends and help them understand how they could protect the women around them. Teach them how to deal with a rapist, sexual predator and pedophile. I am also well aware that men can get raped and assaulted too. I feel for every male and female who had to go through this trauma and I seriously hope that every single human who reflected any sort of violence on another human will be put behind bars.
Now that this is out of the way, this article is for you girls. I am aware that most of Milkyway Magazine’s audience and my personal audience are teenagers or young adults. I know how scary the world is right now, and that there are many people around us who are beyond psychotic. But I am here for you. And in light of the recent events surrounding a guy who’s a sexual predator, rapist, and pedophile, I realized that girls were petrified from the threats he threw at them, and didn’t know how to handle the situation. I know that in the moment things are terrifying, because if a man comes at me and starts threatening me to ruin my reputation, I would be scared too. But also, I am here to teach you how to not let any sexual predator hold any power over you, what to do when put in threatening online situations, and how to turn the tables on these sick predators.
(for clarification, this article is only discussing online threats)
How to not let anyone hold ANY power over you:
Step Number One: Don’t Get Blinded by Love
I am aware that not all men are bad, but I am telling you that some of them are. There are good men and bad men. So, girls, please understand that if a man truly loves you, he won’t treat you like an object. If a man loves you, he won’t ever ask you to do something that you are CLEARLY uncomfortable doing. If a man loves you, he won’t ask you to take pictures of your naked body because you AREN’T just a BODY to him. If a man loves you, he will fall in love with your SOUL and PERSONALITY, and what makes you, YOU. He won’t only care about the crevices of your body and how your waist is so nicely curved.
Stepping into womanhood is hard, I know that. I know how different everything is for my 11 to 14-year-olds out there because I have been there. I know the need to be admired and all that, but please understand that this isn’t the most important thing in the world. If a man makes you uncomfortable, please don’t think twice about deleting him from your life. He is not adding any value into your life, as much as he is taking away from it. He doesn’t love you; he is just using you for his own pleasure and I am sorry that you have to deal with that.
Step Number Two: DO NOT SEND NUDES.
I know how “prude” that sounds but I seriously don’t really care. DON’T SEND NUDES. I will say that again. DON’T SEND NUDES. When a man asks you for nudes, I promise you that there is a 90% chance that it won’t be for his eyes only. Your nudes will be his friends’, and then his friends’ friends’, and the cycle won’t stop. Even if that doesn’t happen, why would you risk a 10% chance of putting yourself in danger? Why do something just for 3 minutes of pleasure that could potentially hold so many negative consequences on your safety and well-being for a lifetime? What makes you so sure that your current boyfriend will stay yours forever? Revenge porn is a thing. There are literal groups on a lot of social media platforms made just so that men can post girls’ nudes on them. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to deal with any of that. Please make the conscious choice and don’t send nudes.
Step Number Three: Trust Your Gut
Another important thing is DON’T FALL INTO PEER PRESSURE. If you are uncomfortable doing ANYTHING, then DON’T do it. No one should ever convince you otherwise. If you don’t want to go to that party, or hangout with that fishy guy, or drink whatever you are being served, then DON’T DO IT. Your gut is almost always right, and when you are in danger, you can most probably feel it. Avoid friends who make you feel like you need to “loosen up” or that you are a “prude”. REAL friends will love you the way you are and will make sure you are out of harms away. So again, delete them out of your life. Pick your safety and comfort over anything.
What to do when you are being threatened and how to use it to your advantage
Moving on, here is how you should deal with any piece of shit who decides to threaten you online. First of all, know and understand that this person is sick and that these are empty threats. He is just trying to manipulate you into doing what he wants. Don’t let him win.
- Let your parents and your circle know about what’s going on, so that even if he decides to open his mouth, he will be attacked instead.
- Keep screenshots as evidence of anything he says and record your phone calls if you can.
- BLOCK that person on every social media platform you could, without even giving him a heads up. Make sure he has no access to you, whatsoever.
- Report him to مباحث الانترنت and I assure you that they will take VERY good care of him. If you could even start an entire movement against him and expose him, then I salute you for doing so.
- Here is a list of numbers you could dial:
- Women’s Complaints Hotline: 151155
- إدارة مكافحة جرائم الحاسبات: 108
- وحدة مكافحة العنف ضد النساء: \333\444\01126977222
- Legal Aid: 01210009192
Ladies, please, don’t allow anyone in the entire world to practice any form of power over you. Sick sexual predators and rapists NEED TO BE PUT BEHIND BARS. They belong there and we are going to make sure they get there. We are all standing together, so don’t ever be scared of sharing your story. This rapist, sexual predator and pedophile will go down and so will every single person who did anything remotely similar. I hope that we will finally see the day where I wouldn’t have to write an article like this again to teach young girls how to protect themselves. It is about time parents learn how to raise their children and teach them how to respect women. Stay safe.
