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 6^th University in Cairo, has even more to say about Egyptian women.

Marching with Dignity – “Sisters” or Not

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 25^th

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 25^th – 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!

WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

SCAF CRIMES!

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!

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 9^th, 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 6^th movement, and member of Supporting Al Baradie group.

She was attacked by the army soldiers on December 16^th 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 16^th 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.

The Old Woman

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.

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      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!

Tahrir Blue Bra

The Egyptian Army has been violently attacking, beating, murdering peaceful protesters. One iconic image that will remain from the December massacres is that of an anonymous unconscious woman, who had been dragged, viciously beaten, and semi-stripped by the valiant uniformed soldiers, her blue bra contrasting with her pale skin and her ripped shirt beneath her, as a soldier's foot lands on her stomach. This is her: 

The bra is in solidarity with this woman, with every woman who's been harassed or beaten, and with every protester in Egypt. Thank you for supporting Egypt's unarmed freedom seekers!

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Source: Tahrir Blue Bra on Twibbon

Not doing anything is actually "doing" nothing!

Through more than one discussion about what has been happening in Egypt since Jan 25^th and what citizen political participation is, together with my own fight all over to stand against violence of all sorts, I came across a lot of people who think that minding their own business is a good thing to do, that they are not meddling in something they don’t get, and in turn actually helping.

Earlier when I was talking in the “Sinister Spinster” blog about divorcees and single women in general and what they suffer, a lot came across me and told me “why do you care?” “you know nothing about that” and “it is not our business to speak about other women and how they are treated” or my favorite “she might actually like to be abused, why are you so sure she is in pain?”

And today, with politics almost everywhere, there’s a voice that really believes a true citizen should just shut up, and stop interfering in political matters, in fighting against Military Trials for civilians, or Emergency Law. Why? Because “we might not know everything”

Problem with that is that it not only puts no responsibility what so ever on the citizen when it comes to how his country is being run, but also gives everything wrong to just have a bigger chance and a more deeper impact.

See, when injustice happens near you, and you choose not to do anything, you in fact are doing something! You are allowing more injustice to pass by with no resistance, you allow more corrupt people to have bigger chances of poisoning all our lives, and you are forgetting that no matter how hard it is for you to believe, but there’s a very high possibility, next time, the victim will be you!

When your colleague is being bullied, don’t watch passively, do something!

When your neighbor is being hit by her husband, don’t listen silently, do something!

When your co-worker is fired for discriminative reasons, don’t ignore, do something!

When the woman next to you in the subway gets harassed, don’t stand right there, do something!

When your fellow citizens are put in military prisons, don’t shut up, say something!

When Emergency law is being forced in your country, don’t do nothing, you HAVE TO do something!

I won’t claim I know, or I should tell you what it is that you should do. Each one of us knows exactly what he is capable of, what the risks he can take are, and what the prices he can pay are.
What I know is that each one of us HAS TO have to a stance against all sorts of injustice in this world.

Be positive, take initiative, pick a cause, have a fight… show the world what it is like to have you… imprint your soul!

Just be!

MMW - Interview

An interview that I was proud to do with my MMW family. It was one of the most interesting interviews I have ever had!

Here is it 

Egyptian Women's Union is not Nawal El Saadawy's Union!!

نريد أسرة ديموقراطية لا سلطة مطلقة فيها لأى فرد الأب أو الأم أو غيرهما

Which means “We want a democratic family/country with no absolute power to a certain person be it the father or the mother!”

These words were in the opening words of a new Facebook page that is titled “Egyptian Women Union” and another one ; “Egypt’s Women Union – Germany” with the picture of Nawal El Saa’dawy on its main page.

So isn’t Nawal El Saa’dawy a person? Why is her picture identifying this union whatever it is? Is it El Saa’dawy’s union? So if I’m interested in such a union, I have to know that I am in Nawal El Saa’dawy’s one? If we need a real life symbol for such a union, we have the pictures of the hundreds and thousands of Egyptian women who have actually been participating in the revolution – Like the Revolution Women’s Coalition – or these “Women of Egypt” pictures, we have the pictures of the female revolutionary martyrs, we have so many figures. And the fact that some people look up to Nawal El Saa’dawy and they want her picture to represent what they are doing, the shouldn’t mention this “No absolute power” thing because I personally see it contradictory, especially when you check out the links in the page and you find out that the international image that whoever making the page is trying to build is that it is something that is closely related to El Saa’dawy.

What if I am an Egyptian woman who believe in each and every cause Egyptian women have been fighting for, and I would like to be part of such a union and help if I can, but I am not willing to be in anything that is related directly to Nawal El Saa’dawy? There’s a difference between working together despite our differences for the bigger cause because we both work for the bigger cause, and working for the bigger cause through and along with someone’s specific image!! Not to mention Saa’dawy’s image!!

I’m sorry Dr. Saa’dawy; you don’t and you shouldn’t own the Egyptian Women Union or any other way to unite Egyptian women under your name. This is not proper and I personally don’t accept it.

I don’t think I can ever work on something that is your image, does this mean, I won’t be able to part of the Egyptian Women “Union”??

I just don’t get it and I don’t like it!

We have passed this time when only one person can own ideas, dreams, visions, not to mention, people, especially women. Egyptian women don’t need to be lead or guided in their own union. This is just a new form of patriarchy that I don’t accept!!

International Women's Day ... for all Egyptians!

Hello everyone, every woman, every man, every Egyptian.

As you may already know, today is the international Women’s Day which is a very special day for me. It’s when all women all over the world try to highlight the main issues from which we suffer. And also point out the specific ones.

I have been fighting domestic violence against women for long time now and I still am, but I find it hard to talk it about at the same time all Egyptians were hit, kicked, ran over, and shot by police. The same time we are being attacked by thugs now, and at the same time we are electrified by the militants every now and then!

Today I will not be an Egyptian women, today I’m an Egyptian.

And as I have been saying for so many times;

VIOLENCE IS NOT OK AND DOES NOT HAVE AN EXCUSE

I would like to salute all Egyptian women and men who have been fighting police, injustice, corruption, and even their fellow Egyptians who are so immersed in the corruption that they are no longer able to be struck by it!

I chose to look for the bigger picture and just point out my frustration by neglecting women role in the constitution reforming committee, which included only men, as to put aside any battles that will distract us from the main bigger goal … The Revolution.

But I think now is the time to say it loud, stating a constitutional amendment that will prevent women from the possibility of running for presidential elections is not and will not be accepted.

But you know why I am not worried? Because I know that the men who were right beside me from day 1 eventually will not allow it either. Some of them might be reluctant to speak it up, but when the time comes when you have to take a stance, they will not accept it … Am I not right? :)

It's worth adding that I just received now a link to the whole constitution amendments that are to be voted upon, and language speaking it doesn't make the president a man at all. I'll keep on researching about them, and keep you posted!

Happy international women’s day to all Egyptians!

God bless us all, and God bless the revolution!