WUNRN
EGYPT - REVOLUTION - WOMEN MOVING
BEYOND SOCIAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC OPPRESSION
Revolution Raising Questions in
Process of Change for Freedom, Gender Equality +
Author Doaa Abdelaal is a women’s rights activist who
works in
28
March 2014 - I still remember how I felt celebrating with thousands on
In
The
change I dream of will not come easily, or without commitment and sacrifices.
After
hundreds of incidents, clashes, protests, marches, sit-ins, and political
settlements, I am experiencing another emotion:anger. I am angry with the
people who believe that we failed, and I am angry with mocking questions such
as “Where are the women?” because some analysts cannot see beyond the number of
women in parliament or a constitution drafting committee.
I would
like to tell them that revolutions do not give answers; they only raise
questions that may not have answers yet. The Egyptian revolution is not an
exception.
The
women and men who believe in revolution as a process to change and challenge
stereotypes and rigid lifestyles saw the January 25, 2011 revolution as a
window that finally opened after years of struggle. This window is small—it
might be difficult to fit through it—but I am sure it will not close. And we
are making our way through the window now, day by day, to a changed and freer
society.
We
struggled for years to create a society that respects personal freedoms as well
as equality of all human beings. The January 25 revolution was an opportunity
for a younger generation to emerge who believes that justice must be the basis
for treating people regardless of gender, faith, class, race, and ethnicity. I
keep asking Nada, a 25-year-old acquaintance, why she decided to leave her work
in a reputable multinational company for a women’s rights nongovernmental
organization (NGO) in Boulaq, a Cairo neighborhood considered to be a slum.
She
always has the same answer: “Because if the women in Boulaq did not get their
rights, then no woman in Egypt will get hers, regardless of her class or how
‘free’ she thinks she is. To empower women and develop the country you need to
start with the very basic needs.” For Nada and many other young women who work
to realize the dream of change, gender equality cannot be achieved without
changing the overall political system that oppresses us.
We have
faced hundreds of setbacks in the past three years. The social, economic, and
political systems in
I forget my anger and
frustration at the slow process for change when I hear that young women
continue to work to change the rules of the game in political parties. They are
not just filling out membership forms; they argue that they must be a part of
decision making and agenda setting, making it clear that they are not planning
to stop pushing for reforms. Another acquaintance, Naiera, struggles inside her
political party to bring youth vision to the agenda. “It is difficult to bring
the youth vision to established parties who have money and power,” she says.
“But we know that youth can make a difference and contribute to change and
that’s what motivates to us to be organized and unified.”
I forget being tired
when I see that men are joining the struggle, not just fighting for women’s
rights, but for gender equality. We are together pushing for change; together
we paint our dreams on the walls.
Credit: Flickr
– Nehal El Sherif
My anger returns,
however, when I remember how much we risk as women in our public and private
struggles. In November 2011, when clashes erupted between protestors who wanted
to protect the
I hope my mixed up
feelings and emotions will stay with me forever. These feelings and the
questions our revolution poses are needed to create alternatives, to pave new roads,
so we are not trapped between two options only: a militarized regime or another
that is based on religious fundamentalist thinking. We pose questions such as
“Where to go next?” and “How we should organize ourselves?” to try to
understand our present and our future. It is difficult but we need to keep
those questions alive. We believe that another world is possible, and without
any ready answers, we still work for it.