WUNRN
EGYPT - WOMEN CONTINUE TO SHOW POWER
IN PROTESTS AMIDST CHALLENGES
Primary
school teacher Reham El Hakim, for instance, was on the front lines on May 5
when the 12th person was killed during demonstrations against the military
government in Abbasaiya in front of the Ministry of Defense. Hundreds were
detained and although many have been released, Associated
Press reports paint a grim picture of the harassment, molestation and
threats of increased sexual violence these men and women faced in custody.
El
Hakim wasn't among the detained, but still felt fear in her heart when she saw
tear gas and water cannons and heard gunfire rip into the crowds. She said it
was her duty, though, as an Egyptian and a woman to be part of the movement
against the military.
"When
I saw the gas and smoke, of course I was afraid. I heard the sound of gunfire.
I wanted to see what was happening," she said.
This kind
of bravery, said Mariam Kirollos, an activist who was among the millions
protesting in
"I
believe that everyday, the protests show the power of women," said the
22-year-old political science graduate, who also participated in the Abbasaiya
protests.
Kirollos
pointed to women's refusal to back down in the face of the military junta in
March 2011, when numerous protesters were rounded up and subjected to
"virginity tests" by officers, which prompted a much-talked about
court case. She also cited the attack on a female protester last December by
security forces who stripped her clothes and beat her, with camera crews
catching the brutal scene on film.
"Even after what happened last December; it makes women stand up for their rights. Even the female doctors at the field hospitals at demonstrations. It takes a lot of guts to be working in that [environment]," Kirollos said.
'Hijacked'
Revolution
It's now
commonplace, however, to hear people say that the military government and
Islamic politicians, who did not at first approve of the anti-Mubarak
demonstrations, have "hijacked" the revolution.
While
activists promise to protect the nation's more progressive divorce laws and
higher marriage age for women, there is no action plan in place should
parliament, with its large, family-focused Islamist parties, decide to tackle
any laws they determine hurt marriage or the sanctity of the family unit.
Party
members have also said they support the controversial act of female genital
mutilation, despite
Kirollos
said that everyday Egyptians--inundated with news about the upcoming May
elections and sophisticated media campaigns from the Muslim Brotherhood
contesting the banning of candidates--are losing sight of the true goals of the
revolution. Too little is being said now about promoting human rights, ending
corruption and moving
"During
the protests in Tahrir [last year] the enemy was clear to everyone. People
cannot understand that the Supreme Council of Armed Forces is the same regime
we've been chanting against since Jan. 25. Right now they define
'revolutionaries' with their movements or groups . . . and not with
their causes," she said.
But that
doesn't mean women's voices are being drowned out. In fact, Kirollos said the
revolution has put fresh fire under issues surrounding women in politics,
media, education and grassroots movements, even though they were not
necessarily the main thrust of
The Latest Debate
The latest
debate swept over the Internet two weeks ago, after Egyptian-American activist
Mona Eltahawy accused Middle Easterners of "hating" women in her controversial
Foreign Policy May/June cover story "Why do they hate us?" The piece
described the second-class-citizen status that some women in the region face,
which is enshrined in both culture and legislation.
The story
was accompanied by an image of a naked woman painted in black, with only her
eyes unpainted, a sexualized symbol of the traditional burka and niqab dress
worn by some Muslim women.
Soon
after, reactions on blogs and news outlets began pouring in, with many refuting
the idea that hate was the primary cause of the suppression of girls and women.
"Even
before reading the responses, I could have guessed what most would say, for
indeed Eltahawy's piece is reductive and essentialist, at the same time that it
generalizes and perpetuates some of the very stereotypes individuals like her
have long struggled to debunk," wrote Parastou
Hassouri, a consultant with International Civil Society Action Network's MENA
program, on the popular Arabist news website.
But this
kind of dialogue will likely be found increasingly on the fringe of
The
fracturing of the country's protesters was on display on a recent Friday, when
thousands of Egyptians once again fill
Many wore
black shirts with a white clenched fist across the back in support of the April
6 Youth Movement, one of the first groups to call for mass demonstrations
leading up to
But they
did not have the protest space to themselves.
Just meters away, taking up the other half of the roundabout, thousands more were demanding the reinstatement of failed presidential candidate and lawyer Hazem Abou Ismail, whose supporters largely believe in traditional gender roles for women and the separation of sexes, as well as banning bikinis on public beaches and the consumption of alcohol.
Less Focus on
Rights, Freedoms
Islamic
protests like these, along with the presidential campaigns, consume much of
Less is
said about protecting personal rights and freedoms. Last year's constitutional
amendment vote limited some presidential powers. But since then, the
constitution-drafting process has stalled. The proposed committee tasked with
revising the landmark legislation was disbanded and there is no word when it
will be reformed.
In the
meantime, Islamist politicians and like-minded groups have taken advantage of
It helps
that some of these groups, unlike their more liberal counterparts, are highly
organized and have a long history. Others like the ultra-conservative Salafist
party Al-Nour are using religion and the promise of an Islamic Egypt to bolster
support.
The
funding of these groups is a big question here, with much speculation surrounding
the oil-and-gas rich states of the
"I
don't have any reliable information although I hear a lot about their funds
from the Gulf," said Samer Soliman, a political science professor at the
But
Soliman does not embrace the hijacking metaphor to describe the current
situation in
"The
revolution is not finished," he said in a recent phone interview. "Or
at least its outcomes are not yet finalized. So it is wrong to say that it has
been 'hijacked' by the Islamists. But at this moment, they are the first
beneficiary. But in the future I think there is a room for marking a balance in
Egyptian politics."