SDB Late Evening News Reads: Egyptian Revolutions #Jan25
Posted: January 25, 2012 Filed under: Egypt, Foreign Affairs, SDB Evening News Reads, Violence against women, Women's Rights | Tags: #Jan25, Egyptian military, Women in Egypt 9 Comments »
Good later evening…
Today marks the one year anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution…
It may not have been the place where the Arab Spring began, but it sure fanned the flames in places like Libya and Syria.
So tonight we are going to focus on today’s events in Egypt.
Egyptian protesters plan sit-in until army leaves | Reuters
Scores of Egyptian youth protesters marking the one-year anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak bedded down in Tahrir Square and pledged to stay put until the ruling military council hands power to civilians.
United last year by anger at Mubarak and his 30-year rule, Egyptians were in high spirits on the January 25 anniversary but divided between activists demanding a swift end to army rule and those celebrating the strides their country has taken with its first free elections in 60 years.
The attempt to extend the protest, which the military had hoped to limit to a daytime celebration, raises the prospect of violence. A series of sit-ins in recent months have ended in clashes with security forces and left dozens dead.
“There will be a sit-in until they leave, by any means but they should leave,” said Alaa Abdel Fattah, a blogger who was detained by the army after clashes outside the state media offices, or Maspiro, left 25 protesters dead in October.
Egyptians mass in Tahrir to honour uprising – Middle East – Al Jazeera English
“Down with military rule” and “Revolution until victory, revolution in all of Egypt’s streets” were chanted by one group of mainly youths in an area of Tahrir on Wednesday.
Sherine Tadros, reporting from Tahrir Square, said: “For a section of people demonstrating here, it’s really just about military hijacking the revolution, and about Islamist parties and movements now making the gains instead of those who actually initiated the revolution.”
“But others say it is a rocky transition but it is still a transition pointing out to the fact that Egypt had first free and fair elections in decades and people’s assembly which reflects will of the people.”
Meanwhile, about 3,000 people, who were pardoned by the military rulers coinciding with the anniversary, have reportedly walked out of Tora prison located on the outskirts of Cairo.
The Lens has a series of photographs of today’s anniversary celebrations, marches and further protest:
Egypt and More – Pictures of the Day – NYTimes.com
Following many tweets today about the Anniversary, it was very upsetting to see so many people talking about the sexual assaults women where experiencing.
We all remember Lara Logan: Life is not about dwelling on the bad – NY Daily News
Lara Logan is back on the air, she’s got nine stories in the works at “60 Minutes” and a new show set to launch — but she still battles the demons of a horrific gang sexual assault, even sometimes while she puts her young daughter to bed.
“People don’t really know that much about (posttraumatic stress disorder),” she told the Daily News. “There’s something called latent PTSD. It manifests itself in different ways. I want to be free of it, but I’m not.
“It doesn’t go away,” she said. “It’s not something I keep track of. It’s not predictable like that. But it happens more than I’d like.”
Last Feb. 11, while covering the Egyptian uprisings in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Logan was surrounded by an angry mob of men and ripped away from her CBS crew. She was viciously stripped and suffered a “brutal and sustained” sexual assault.
“I didn’t even know that they were beating me with flagpoles and sticks and things, because the sexual assault was all I could feel, their hands raping me over and over and over again,” she told “60 Minutes” last spring.
They tried to rip off chunks of her scalp.
“I was in no doubt in my mind that I was in the process of dying,” she said.
You should read the rest of this article, and then come back and read the various tweets I have copied below:
tarif_25january Ahmed EltahawyEgyptians Mark Their Revolution’s Anniversary with Mixed Feelings ti.me/yUIvIk.@monaeltahawy.Toppling a dictator but not his regimeghadasha Ghada Shahbender“@acarvin: Wow. Just, wow. RT@eldahshan: Meet the greatest square in the world. Incredible photo, from AFP#Tahrir twitpic.com/8bm2jd”)
LilianaSegura Liliana SeguraSo moved by “In Tahrir Square,” a powerful tribute to#Jan25. Thank you to@sharifkouddous & all who made it possible to tell the story.Ghonim Wael GhonimEgyptian women leading#MustafaMahmoud march today https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=331683580214846&set=a.331683116881559.64905.104224996294040&type=3#Jan253arabawy Hossam عمو حسامToday was the biggest march I ever attended in my whole life.. at least 100,000 were marching in Giza#Jan25 is.gd/gr74N4Sandmonkey Mahmoud SalemEveryone is carrying pictures of the martyrs.#Jan25monaeltahawy Mona EltahawySummerNazif Summer Nazif@monaeltahawy I was groped earlier today in the square but a guy from#Ikhwan saw what happened and saved me. Disgraceful.Nooux Noha Hamed@monaeltahawy sadly on my way home from the sq i was tellin my male friend that it’s hard to be inside the demo without a male..devastating!SaraMaklad Sara Maklad@Randaeltahawy@monaeltahawy and i’m tired of freaking out inside every time i pass by a group of guys on the street!
SummerNazif Summer Nazif@KarinDianeRyan@monaeltahawy you don’t have time to think when something like this happens, it’s scary how a touch can make you feel naked.monaeltahawy Mona EltahawyOur revolution isn’t just against fascist regime; it must also be against misogynistic attitudes. We will not be silenced!#Jan25monaeltahawy Mona EltahawyTell me what happened. Are u ok, Menna? RT@memexoxo:@monaeltahawy It was ridiculous today. Absolutely disgusting.MomoAwadAllah Mary AwadAllah@monaeltahawy@SalmaNoshokaty@NoorNoor1 my americn & swdish frnds wre badly harassd tday,pants,tops,&bras torn.all bruisd now.so frustratngmonaeltahawy Mona EltahawyToday we made it v clear#Jan25 continues but I’ll be damned if I stay quiet about sexual assault so that the revolution doesn’t “look bad”.
Have a good evening, and just a side note…we changed our twitter account name…if you have been following us, you don’t need to do a thing.
@SkyDancingBlogSky Dancing BlogWe just changed our Twitter handle from@skydancer66 to@SkyDancingBlog Stop by the blog & join the conversation:skydancingblog.com
Sima
dakinikat
ecocatwoman
fiscalliberal
grayslady
JJ Lopez Minkoff
mablue2
NW Luna
peggysue22
quixote
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
obama Mansplains to the Governor of Arizona
Same story different source..Obama has tense exchange with Arizona governor – chicagotribune.com
Arab spring — unless you happen to be female. When will it end?
Strength to our Arab sisters!
The misogyny throughout the world has no borders–it’s the same everywhere. I don’t blame these Egyptian women being furious. And how typical that they’re being told to be silent–so the Movement isn’t tarnished.
Women’s issues are always secondary, always told to wait. Cheers to their feisty refusal!
Great update, minx.
Thanks Peggy. Some of the tweets were very distressing indeed.
It’s going to be a long night. My daughter didn’t make the soccer team…and she is getting sick…fever and sinus. Y’all have a good evening.
Oh, that’s too bad. I’m sorry Minx.
A year ago I wasn’t cheering for the Egyptian Revolution — I said that I would wait and see how much liberation/freedom human rights Egyptian women would get.
It seems like not a damned thing has changed — as long as women have no rights or very little rights and freedom — there was no revolution.
When I see the horrendous photos of male cops beating and stripping women — then Egypt is still a dangerous place for women. Women are apparently considered less than human by the majority of males in Egypt.
The country should be boycotted — but oh no — 0bowma makes sure they get their tear gas and crowd control tools. 0bowma is/was and will always be a misogynistic male.
You can say that again. He is a super-misogynist, IMO.
Love this post, Minx.