Soraya Bahgat

Soraya Bahgat (born 1983 is a Finnish-Egyptian social entrepreneur, gender equality activist and women's rights advocate. Primarily active in Egypt, she spent part of her childhood in Finland and now lives between Egypt and Finland.

While working as Head of HR in 2012, she founded Tahrir Bodyguard, a grass-roots movement of uniformed volunteers, to protect women from mob sexual assaults in Tahrir Square in the wake of Egypt's 2011 revolution. The movement successfully intervened to rescue over 100 women and girls and, and offered free self-defense classes for women at several locations in Cairo.

She often speaks and comments on women's issues at events and in the media. In 2019, the Finnish Government granted her the Hän Honor for her work combatting gender-based violence and promoting gender equality.

Quotes

• It was sickening. They were dragging her through the street. I couldn't imagine something so horrific, and something that fundamentally would keep women from exercising their right to assembly like anyone else. No one should be prevented from demonstrating.
  • [1]Bahgat explains what motivated her to found Tahrir Bodyguard after witnessing television footage of a brutal mob sexual assault on a female protester in Tahrir Square.

• We're putting up a fight, we're not afraid.
  • [2]During her speech at the Oslo Freedom Forum, Bahgat described how Egyptian women and volunteers continued resisting sexual violence despite intimidation and attacks.

• When they tried to silence Egyptian women, we became even more defiant.
  • [3]In the same Oslo Freedom Forum speech, Bahgat argues that violence against women strengthened rather than silenced women's determination to participate in public life.

• Advocating for women and girls is a continuous journey filled with a lot of blessings and fueled by passion — the best thing that has ever happened to me.
  • [4]Reflecting on the growth of Tahrir Bodyguard and her wider advocacy, Bahgat describes women's rights activism as a lifelong commitment driven by passion.

• I come from a family of very strong women: my mother and grandmother are tough and resilient, and I've seen their capabilities.
  • [5]Discussing the origins of her commitment to gender equality, Bahgat credits the strong women in her family with shaping her beliefs and activism.

• Women are an integral part of the Egyptian revolution and are credited with bringing down the Mubarak regime.
  • [6]Speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2013, Soraya Bahgat emphasized the central role women played during the Egyptian Revolution while condemning the violence and harassment they faced afterward.

• Violence against women is not a women's issue. It's a societal issue.
  • [7]In discussing the mission of Tahrir Bodyguard and her wider advocacy, Bahgat argues that ending gender-based violence requires society as a whole—not only women—to take responsibility.