His sentiments were repeated again and again by other reactionary men. An engineer called Abdul-Wahab told me that foreigners were making trouble, forcing women they were having sex with to come out and protest.

Since January, waves of protest have swept across Egypt, from Coptic Christians demanding an end to the discrimination to widespread labor unrest.

Workers have been demanding an end to workplace corruption and better salaries. These labor protests are a daily occurrence across all of Egypt and are a direct result of the regime’s neo-liberal policies which undercut workers rights. Tens of thousands of workers have been airing their demands, through sit-ins, walk-outs and street protests. Not once have these protests been shouted down by mobs of men. Indeed, Abddul-Wahab had been out protesting for workers’ rights in Cairo.

Why then the difference for women demanding rights or simply airing their grievances? “This is not the time,” said Abdul-Wahab.

A group of female journalists from a local magazine had prepared banners earlier in the day. Some of them wept as a group of men forced them out of Tahrir Square. One man, his eye covered in a bandage from an injury sustained during the anti-government protests, was screaming at the young women. A child yelled “Yalla” (“hurry up,” or “go”) repeatedly at them.

Speculation has focused on whether Egypt has really been through a revolution, or not. Most Egyptians will say it has. But a revolution should not simply mean the overthrow of a political system — which has not yet happened in Egypt. A real revolution should entail widespread social reform, or at the very least give rise to an environment in which problems endemic to a society are verbalized and addressed.

In the 2010 World Gender Gap Report, Egypt was ranked 125 out of 134 countries and performed worst in regard to the political empowerment of women.