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Graduate's app tackles harassment in Cairo

After years of hearing stories from female friends and relatives of "almost daily" harassment in Cairo, a 23-year-old Egyptian graduate has launched an app aimed at helping women tackle the problem in her home city.

The "Step Up Society" app - launched at the Global Graduate Show - uses reports from users to build up a map of areas that are safer and those that are not, as well as helping women access support if they're attacked or abused.

Allaa Elhamady, who studied at the German University in Cairo, says her app also offers women a database of trustworthy and carefully vetted drivers to call on when they feel threatened.

"In Egypt, ride-hailing apps don't do background checks or drug tests or anything so they don't ensure the safety of passengers. So I want to make sure when you go to a dangerous area, or even a safe area, you have a driver you can trust 100%."

(Photo: Some of the features of the app. Credit: Allaa Kammel)

Release date:

Duration:

3 minutes