Tell us a little bit about yourself!
My name's Jawaher, I'm an 18 year old computer science major, and I've been participating in activism online for a few years now.
When did you start your account?
I started this account back in July
What inspired you to start the account?
After seeing @catcallsofcairo 's account, I googled catcallsof *insert every arab country* and didn't find any other pages, so I decided to make my own.
Why do you think "chalking back" is a good method of raising awareness?
I personally do not chalk as it counts as vandalism. I think that chalking back is a good method of raising awareness. However, we should not completely dismiss the informative side of things. I think it is my duty to share important numbers to contact and places to seek help from after being violated. I personally think that the best form of activism is through chalking back as well as sharing important information.
Why do you think it's important to end street harassment?
Because I want to walk outside for once without having my day ruined due to some uneducated catcaller. Street harassment leads to all forms of violence. Recently, a woman named Mariam Mohamed was killed because of street harassment.
How can your country better address street harassment?
My country can definitely do better. We barely have any anti-rape/assault/harassment activism in Bahrain. We need government funded campaigns as well as classes in which people are taught the fundamentals of consent, the legality of harassment, why it is wrong, and why it's important to report such cases.
What do you hope is the outcome of your account?
The main goal of this account is to promote people to report the harassment they face to the authorities. Street harassment is prohibited by article 351 of the Bahrain penal code, so we have to take advantage of that.
What's the most difficult street harassment situation you've experienced?
I've been made fun of for my accent after ignoring the catcalls I was receiving.
What does being a part of this campaign mean to you? It means that I can voice thousands of Bahraini residents who've experienced harassment on Bahraini soil.
