The
responsibility of a country is not in the hands of a privileged few. We are
strong, and we are free from tyranny as long as each one of us remembers his or
her duty as a citizen. Speak out! Ask those questions. Demand that truth.
Democracy is not a free ride, man. I'm here to tell you. But, this is where we
live. And if we do our job, this is where our children will live
Just Raise Your Head Up High
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Marching with Dignity – “Sisters” or Not
ere on MMW, I tried to highlight the fact that mainstream media was focusing on Islamists’ statements regarding what women wear,
while, in fact, what was even more dangerous was their vision regarding
women and child law. I referred in that article to quotations from Dr.
Manal Abul-Hassan about allowing female genital mutilation, and to
Abul-Hassan’s description of child protection laws as simply an
imitation of the West (and therefore bad or unnecessary).

Dr. Manal Abul-Hassan. Image via Asharq Al-Awsat
Turns that Dr. Abul-Hassan, media professor in October 6th University in Cairo, has even more to say about Egyptian women.
Labels:
Ikhwan,
Jan25,
Muslim Brotherhood,
Tahrir,
Women
Friday, January 20, 2012
And Justice Should Be Served!
Police officer who video-shot “hunting” protestors eyes was
cleared!
Sayeda Zainab police officers accused of murdering the
martyrs were cleared!
Mubarak endless trial!
Whoever
follows the news of the legal aspect of this revolution will always be frustrated.
Between the cases which were built really weak and the cases that lacked
professional legal assistance, a lot of cases were dropped someone between the
papers in people’s memory as “Do you even believe in Egyptian Judiciary System?
”
Problem with
such cases is not the revolution. It’s that very simple fact that when human life is intentionally taken away, there
has to be consequences and the state – any state – is responsible for proper
investigation and making sure someone is blamed and punished – legally of
course!
Such justice
is not a political demand at all, it’s pure social one.
Does anyone
seriously expect a father who lost his son, had to run between morgues, to
finally find his body with whatever bullets poking his body, to shut up and
forget about it?
Do you think
a brother will be able to go on with his life when every time he sleeps he has
to see his little brother hot body in some morgue on the floor, and to remember
that he had to run between offices to be allowed to bury him?
Is it even
possible?
Is it fair?
Is this
stability?
What would
happen when each one who lost someone decides to completely lost belief in our
judicial system? When everyone finally realizes that if you want something
right to be done, he has to do himself?
When I call
for fair trials, it is not about the political battle. It is that I am praying
to God someone in this country wake up and see that unless murderers in this
country get locked, we are looking ahead to a bloody war… and no one will be
able to stop it!
Justice is
not about revenge, it’s about keeping the outlines of a safe societies where
law is what defines everything. And fighting for justice is fighting for peace.
I don’t want
to see Egypt 20 or 30 years from and watch the war between sons of police
officers – and military for that matter – and sons of the people who were
murdered!
Forget your
political affiliation for a minutes and think of the ramifications of clearing
a police officer whose videos shooting people were all over the internet?
On what
wishful high hopes do you think someone will forget that?
Or do you
prefer it the other way? His photo with the word “wanted” all over the country
and he has to either hide forever or leave for good!
Even if someone breaks the law, he has rights!
Yes, and these rights are not questionable or depending on our modes and how we
see things.
He breaks the
law, he gets arrested by the law, investigated by the law and tried by the law!
Even if he
resists arrest, there is a law for that. You warn for few times then if you
absolutely have to do it, you just prevent him by shooting his leg,
…not his eye,
…not his
chest,
…not his
chin!
If we want to
protect this country from a civil bloody war, we all should pray, work and
advocate for justice to be served!
Monday, January 16, 2012
2011; The year of love, war, and peace!
I started writing this post like I do every year, but in the middle I found out it could not be summed up in one post.
This one was written while listening to an incredibly beautiful violin played by Marwan Anwer
1- Before Jan
25th
I started
last year as I ended the year before; exhausted, drained, and frustrated. Pure survival instinct – of no choice of mine –
was the only reason I woke up every day.
First day
was so sad, following the news of those who were murdered in the two saints
church, and it was not the first time I think like “How would it be if I was
one of them?”
Thinking
about death consumed a lot of my time. especially that I was on a Christmas
vacation at work. I had all the time in the world to be so sure that there is
something seriously going on wrong in my life.
Emptiness
has started to invade my soul, and the void inside my heart to grow that it was
really hard to breath. I used to eat to imagine food swallowed in the void
taking any space to free my lungs… it didn’t happen. I felt fat, I felt heavy!
Loss of
purpose was getting into me till I decided to leave. Not to a fancy country or
to look for a nice job. I applied to be an emergency doctor in literally every
war zone on the face of the planet; Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria
during the conflicts… etc
The idea of
either dying or living saving someone else’s life was so relieving that I spent
hours day dreaming about it to survive a day!
I came back to
work from the Christmas vacation to figure out that where I work is just one
more place in Egypt where everything wring is OK. They deducted from my salary and
started to give me their “Egyptian Employers” best!
I knew that
day that this was just one more job where I have to suck it up and endure.
Problem was I was already maxed out!
Two days
before the revolution, I was invited to a friend’s birthday. She’s not the type
of friends whom you call every day, or every month for that matter. But she’s
one of those with whom you meet every now and then to share few tears and some
laughs and go back to your life!
I was the
normal me during that birthday; talking with people, playing the role of the
organizer being invited to do so, giving my most attention to blow colorful
bubbles with a baby, and laughing on jokes.
Didn’t know
that day would be one of the most important days of my life!
Next day, I
went to work, and was called by the HR to get paid cause the 25th –
when we normally got paid – was going to be a holiday.
I took the
money, and left thanking God for one more day of the nothingness!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
MMW: What Women Wear: Women’s Clothing, Media, and Egypt’s Revolutionary Elections
Women in the Egyptian revolution have been a great source of international attention and appreciation. It is when women participate that you truly can call it a “people’s” revolution.
When the news started to come out about the elections for the Revolutionary Parliament, everyone looked closely for women’s participation; women candidates, women voters, women section in each party program, and women finally winning seats in the parliament. With the general fear from the dominance of the so-called Islamic parties affecting women rights in Egypt in general, and political participation specifically, and with the minimal success of women in the first stage, worries started to get bigger.
More
Labels:
Egypt,
Egyptian Election,
Ikhwan,
Muslim Brotherhood,
Salafi,
Women
WE WILL NEVER FORGET!
Knock on all doors
leave no relative, friend, colleague, or a neighbor
Let them watch this even if you had to do it by force
If you can’t go to Tahrir,
If you have to go to work,
If you don’t want to make your family worries,
If you’re so confused,
If you don’t want to be in the middle,
watch… and make everybody watch!
That is your role, your duty, and your responsibility!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tahrir Women Wall of Fame!
Samira Ibrahim
This is the
upper-Egypt girl, coming from Sohag, who has participated in the revolution since
day 1. During the violent military attack on March 9th, Samira,
together with 16 girls, were subjected to an illegal “Virginity Test” forced
into them by army soldiers after being tortured and beaten up!
Samira is
not shutting up, and she is raising charges against the army, even if it takes
her life to get her right!
Ghada Kamal
A pharmaceutical
from Mansoura, member of April 6th movement, and member of
Supporting Al Baradie group.
She was
attacked by the army soldiers on December 16th morning, her veil was
taken off, and the letter “T” was carved into her skull.
She gave
her full testimony about her horrible experience of being detained by any army sergeant
who kept threatening of sexually abusing her!
It’s worth
mentioning here that there was some confusion regarding Ghada being the girl
who was stripped off. But that is not the case, yes, there are so many cases
not just one!
Farida Elhessy
A medical
graduate who works as a photographer and who went to Kasr El Einy street
Friday, December 16th morning to reply to a call for doctors to help
casualties.
Farida was
beaten up by the army, kicked on the back, and pulled from her hair.
According to Mona Seif, this woman was not part of the
protest, but she joined just to save a girl from being beaten up by the army,
only to be beaten up herself and slapped till she apologized!
Tahrir Lady:
She is the
woman every piece of **** thought he could talk about her.
She is the
woman who was wearing face-veil “Nekab” when she was dragged on the street,
kicked on the chest, pulled from the head, and finally stripped off till her
underwear was revealed to suddenly realize she was a woman, then they left her
for the other protestors to help her.
Right now,
according to her friend on Twitter, she is suffering several bone fractures,
skull fracture, bruises all over her body, and of course, she suffers
psychologically and emotionally not only from the army violence but from how
easy it was for everyone to varnish her reputation and question her morals and
honor.
---
As an Egyptian woman, I cannot help but
being so proud of these women.
Not just
cause they faced all this horrible violence fearlessly, but because they
amazingly made everyone look into one of our major societal problems, that I
personally believe the core of so many disturbances we suffer here.
Violence
against women!
In a
society that thinks violence against women OK, army soldiers cannot be
different. To them, violence is a language , a method of communication, and a
tool by which they enforce and assure power.
I can beat
you up, hence I can control you!
Men to
women, fathers to daughters, police officers to citizens, and finally army
soldiers to protestors.
Some think
that focusing on what happened to women is a narrow-minded look into the
events, cause all Egyptians have been subjected to all sorts of violence and
abuse from authorities, not only this year, but for decades.
I say yes,
that is – unfortunately – true. But it is when you highlight the fact that
women – perceived as the weaker gender – and children for that matter, should
not be under violence from someone who is stronger, that the whole concept of
violence will be looked at differently.
I remember
my fiancé when we were discussing kids playing sports like Karate and Taekwondo,
he told me that it is when you know you can actually kill someone that you
learn how to control it, and not to brag about it.
You already
know you can do it, you have nothing to prove!
Hence it
starts to become shameful to attack someone who is weaker than you. It would
not be a fair game.
I think we
need to dig deeper into this culture of “what
is power” in order to finally reach a
day when no one beats up another human just because he can!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Waiting for you Tomorrow
Tomorrow, Tuesday December the 20th,
a women march will take place starting at 3PM in front of “AlMogammaa’” and
reaching press syndicate at 4.30 PM
Waiting for you!
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