The British-Egyptian journalist and blogger Sarah Carr observed on Facebook that Ms. Bahnassy’s reaction “illustrates perfectly why sexual harassment/assault in Egypt is such a chronic problem.”

“Why did she say this?” Ms. Carr asked. “Perhaps because she was unprepared and has had it drilled into her that the job of the media is always to conceal the truth as part of the Egypt First effort?” Or was it, Ms. Carr suggested, “because she lives in a society where women’s bodies are sacrosanct and off limits to other males when said bodies are within eyeshot of a male relative, but otherwise it is open season?”