ALBAWABA - Uber is yet again under fire across Egypt as locals are calling to boycott the taxi company amid a recent incident that had social media users bring up the tragic passing of Habiba Al-Shamaa as the individual in question faced something similar to her.
According to Al Arabiya, Human Rights activists took to social media with X (formerly known as Twitter) being the most prominent out of the bunch, and got the Hashtag "Stop using Uber" trending in Egypt.
On Tuesday, May. 13, 2024, an Uber driver was arrested and detained after attempting to kidnap and sexually assault an Egyptian woman after trying to lure her into a deserted area in the capital of Cario. Moreover, the driver tried to rape her after trying to threaten her with a knife.
#StopUsingUber: Calls to boycott Uber Egypt amid stabbing incident following Habiba Al-Shamaa
After she resisted and started screaming for help, the man stabbed her multiple times. Fortunately, Journalist Amr Adeeb claimed that the woman miraculously survived the stabbing incident.
Additionally, he claimed that there's a group operating like a gang on Uber Egypt and added, "People are terrified. There is no inspection of the driver and no insurance for the passenger. Uber has no one to hold them accountable. I would die and know the party responsible for the company."
"The first girl died," referring to Habiba Al-Shamaa, and "The second one miraculously survived." He further called out Uber to act as soon as possible as people, especially women, are in danger because of this. Other users had a simpler solution: to boycott the application fully to push the company to act.
Uber Egypt responded
(Photos of Habiba Al-Shamaa circulating on X)
In an official statement, Uber responded to the calls for boycotts and the journalist, here's what it had to say:
"The company has already taken all necessary measures against the driver, including stopping his account on the application."
In addition, it said, "As soon as they were informed of the incident, we contacted a member of the victim’s family to provide all possible support, and we are also working closely" and that they are "determined to continue our efforts to address all forms of sexual assault and violence."
