By politicizing the social understanding of sexual harassment, the Egyptian revolution marked a major turning point in the significance of the use of violence by women. The intensification of sexual violence in Tahrir Square legitimated women’s use of fighting techniques. The perception that Cairo was becoming more dangerous subsequently contributed to an increase in women’s self-defense practices, in turn allowing transgressive gender performances. The subsequent restoration of authoritarian rule has been marked by an instrumentalization and depoliticization of the “women’s cause.”