Thousands in Cairo protest sexual assault

Egyptians of all walks march in downtown Cairo to condemn recent acts of sexual assault against women at anti-government protests.

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Recent demonstrations marking the second anniversary of Egypt's 2011 uprisings have been scarred by a number of incidents of sexual violence against female protesters.

Online sexual harassment campaigns have reported at least 19 separate sexual assaults.

Protesters believe the violence against woman was designed and orchestrated to keep them off the streets and away from protests.

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PROTESTER AND DIRECTOR OF THE EGYPTIAN CENTRE FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS, NAHED ABO EL QOMSAAN, SAYING:

"What happened in the squares on the 25th and after was a crime against humanity here were aggressive actions against civilians, in an organised and pre-planned way to empty the squares and scare the opposition and send messages to society so that they are scared to express their opinion."

But some women say they violence won't deter them.

"Even though we are not young women, we were still harassed," says one protester. "This means that it's not about young women only, but they harass any woman in the square to break them and stop them from going down. I am telling them, we will go down, we've never been broken, we'll go down and stay in the square."

Some activists worry that Egypt's new Islamist-backed constitution will undermine the rights of the nation's women.