CAIRO — Jehad Safwat pulls her headscarf tight and presses her hands deep into her belly when she talks about the virginity tests she underwent last month in Egyptian detention. The year-old medical student was arrested at a Dec. For nearly two weeks she was held in detention, mostly at Cairo's Azkabia police station, where she says she was forced to submit to virginity and pregnancy tests that police conducted at a medical facility nearby. When she was finally released, police filed no formal charges against her — and handed her the bill for her "treatments. The Egyptian army, which ousted the Muslim Brotherhood-led government last year and has effectively ruled the country since, promised to ban the tests after it emerged that more than a dozen women arrested during the protests in Tahrir Square had been forced to submit to them.

More Videos Story highlights Four women claim they have been subjected to "virginity tests" by security forces The tests were ruled illegal in A general had said they were to avoid false rape claims Activists say allegations they have returned suggests a pre pattern of abuse is back Shahira Amin says Egyptians are turning a blind eye, putting stability ahead of human rights. The apparent resumption of forced "virginity tests" by security forces in Egypt has dashed activists' hopes for democratic reforms and fueled fears of a return to police brutality and abuse reminiscent of the Hosni Mubarak-era. Four women arrested in recent months for taking part in anti-military protests have said they were subjected to virginity tests by the police whilst in custody.

Dina Guirguis. But such moves are nothing compared to actual assaults on women—and these have been linked to Egyptian governments before Morsi and are likely to be so post-Morsi as well. Indeed, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and beatings of women as tools of political violence in Egypt are nothing new. The attacks, which resulted in ten killed and over injured, featured the singling out and harsh beatings of female protesters.

Sex attacks in Cairo's Tahrir Square have become a grim feature of the site synonymous with protests, but could the political changes make a difference to the treatment of women? A roped off section of staircase creates a safe passage for women as they exit the metro in Cairo's Tahrir Square during protests. But it is not manned by transport security, or the police. It is male volunteers, who cordon off a pathway so that women can get into the square without being pressed upon by the men already outside.