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Ahram Online: “Egyptian million woman march ends with a gunshot”

Posted: March 8, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Women's Rights | Tags: , , |26 Comments

“We are not convinced by the amendments of the constitution as they don’t give women the right to run for presidential elections, and there are still no equal rights.” –Reem Shahin, a member of the Egyptian Million Woman March movement

Today in Cairo, the spirit of the Tahrir protests was turned inside out. The calls for a Million Woman March–to coincide with International Women’s Day and call for the recognition of women’s political voices in the New Egypt–drew a small crowd (a thousand by some reports, 200 by another) to Liberation Square. With a depressed turnout, the march fell prey to violent anti-feminist thugs who disrupted the event.

Chants used to bring down Mubarak were replaced by chants calling for the downfall of women.

Ahram Online reports:

Meanwhile, as a group of activists stood side-by-side holding banners of the movement calling for equality, another group of male protesters came from the other side to disrupt the march. As males and females activists chanted “Men and women, one hand,” “Muslims and Christian, one hand,” the other group described as “thugs” chanted “No, no, the people want women to step down,” and “The Quran is our ruler.”

It was a shouting match more than a dialogue, with neither side hearing the other. The thugs became insulting and aggressive, but the majority of the activists insisted on staying. The thugs then became violent and started pushing and harassing some women. Activists ran away to Qasr El Aini street, thugs running after them until they reached a point where the army was stationed. The army fired in the air, and the thugs ran away. The army sent soldiers to accompany home girls who had been harassed. “I got harassed by those thugs, I don’t know what to say,” said an activist female who preferred to remain anonymous. She was very angry and called on everyone to leave Tahrir Square and not to return, at least for today.

Who, if anybody, sent these thugs? Some points to consider:

Feminist activist Mona Ezzat who participated in the march thinks that this is a result of culture created by the old Egyptian regime. “This is a natural product of the long years of dictatorship and the absence of culture in Egypt,” Ezzat told Ahram Online. She also thinks that the disruptive people were thugs and do not therefore represent the majority of Egyptians.

Most people in Tahrir Square believe that the old regime pays thugs as one of their counter-revolution techniques. “They come here every day and try to disperse our demonstration in Tahrir Square. The same faces every day,” said Osama Motawea, one of the demonstrators who sleeps in Tahrir Square every night.

Christian Science Monitor, “In Egypt’s Tahrir Square, women attacked at rally on International Women’s Day“:

“We fought side by side with men during the revolution, and now we’re not represented,” said Passat Rabie, a young woman who came with friends, after men aggressively dispersed the protest. “I thought Egypt was improving, that it was becoming a better country. If it’s changing in a way that’s going to exclude women, then what’s the point? Where’s the democracy?”Hastily organized on Facebook to coincide with International Women’s Day, the protest was billed as a “Million Woman” march. But in fact, it attracted only about 200 demonstrators, mostly women but some men as well. The violent opposition they faced suggests that Egyptian women must fight their own revolution to achieve equal rights.

More from CSM… shades of “Iron My Shirt“:

“Go home, go wash clothes,” yelled some of the men. “You are not married; go find a husband.” Others said, “This is against Islam.” To the men demonstrating with the women, they yelled “Shame on you!”

What is it about women daring to compete for presidential power that drives people so crazy?

Things got very ugly. The CSM has other details including this:

The men took over the raised platform where the women had held their demonstration, as many of the women trembled in rage. During the melee, one of the attacking men groped Fatima Mansour, a college student who wore purple for International Women’s Day and argued eloquently with a man who said it was unIslamic for a woman to become president, quoting the Quran back at him. Sexual harassment is a common indignity for women in Cairo, though it virtually disappeared during the first few days of the uprising. After the attack, she was disheartened, but determined to continue the fight.

She whirled and slapped him, before her colleagues held her back to keep her from getting hurt, she said. Before the attack, she had been optimistic. “We believe that we have a right to rebuild Egypt,” she said. “Women’s participation during the revolution was remarkable. We can’t ignore this and deny us a role.”

Her friend Shaza Abdel Lateef chimed in. “They can’t just send us home after the revolution,” she said. One of the criticisms they faced over and over again was that now was not the time for women to demand their rights. Ms. Lateef rejects that. “We say no, we are half the population. If we stay silent, we will continue to experience all the discrimination of the past.”

Washington Post, “Women’s rights marchers in Cairo report sexual assaults by angry mob“:

CAIRO – Women hoping to extend their rights in post-revolutionary Egypt were faced with a harsh reality Tuesday when a mob of angry men beat and sexually assaulted a group of marchers calling for political and social equality, witnesses said.

“Everyone was chased. Some were beaten. They were touching us everywhere,” said Dina Abou Elsoud, 35, a hostel owner and organizer of the ambitiously named Million Woman March.

She was among a half-dozen women who said they were repeatedly groped by men – a common form of intimidation and harassment here that was, ironically, a target of the protesters. None reported serious injuries.

[…]

As upwards of 300 marchers assembled late Tuesday afternoon, men began taunting them, insisting that a woman could never be president and objecting to women’s demands to have a role in drafting a new constitution, witnesses said.

“People were saying that women were dividing the revolution and should be happy with the rights they have,” said Ebony Coletu, 36, an American who teaches at American University in Cairo and attended the march, as she put it, “in solidarity.”

Women are divisive and should appreciate their right to shut up and take it. Gee, haven’t I seen this movie before?

More from WaPo:

The men – their number estimated to be at least double that of the women’s – broke through a human chain that other men had formed to protect the marchers. Women said they attempted to stand their ground – until the physical aggression began.

“I was grabbed in the crotch area at least six times; I was grabbed in the breasts; my throat was grabbed,” Coletu said.

She and several others said they eventually took refuge in a tourism agency office protected by Egyptian army members.

[…]

Nagla Rizk, also a professor at American University in Cairo, said she went to the march Tuesday full of hope but left within an hour after sensing the ugly mood of the counter-demonstrators.

“The whole event was not successful, and I am very disappointed,” she said. “This is totally alien to the spirit of Tahrir.”

Nima Elbagir’s report with CNN (post continues after the youtube):

[Edited to insert the following note: I meant to point this out… around the 2:40 mark, Nima talks about how just the leaflets alone were a point of contention–one of the leaflets said “we demand control of our reproductive rights”–and how men considered it shameful for women to be distributing materials with words like that printed on them.]

Some more reading on the march which I’m still combing through:

Another related piece:

I wanted to leave you with something more uplifting from today before I go.

Below: A crowd celebrated International Women’s Day with a rally protesting violence linked to Ivory Coast’s ongoing political crisis, in the Abobo district of Abidjan, the country’s main city. The women are supporters of Alassane Ouattara, the man the United Nations, the African Union and most foreign powers say defeated Laurent Gbagbo in the recent presidential election. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)

Click photo to go to NYT Lens Pictures of the Day

 

26 Comments on “Ahram Online: “Egyptian million woman march ends with a gunshot””

  1. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    March 8, 2011 at 9:28 pm

    I’m so sorry it turned out like this. I hate to say it, but this is pretty much what I expected would happen eventually. As I wrote after the attack on Lara Logan, I expect women to be left behind.

    This is tragic, but I hope Egyptian women will continue to stand up for their rights and not agree to continue doing the scut work of the revolution while getting nothing in return.

    • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
      March 8, 2011 at 9:56 pm

      I don’t know if you got a chance to watch the youtube of the Nima Elbagir report yet, but she talks about how just the leaflets alone were a point of contention–one of the leaflets said “we demand control of our reproductive rights” and how men considered it shameful for women to be distributing materials with words like that printed on them. I meant to put that in the post, but I forgot.

    • madamab's avatar madamab says:
      March 8, 2011 at 10:09 pm

      I feel the same way, BB. It would have been a miracle if all the decades of Islamic oppression were overthrown along with Mubarak.

      It’s always the same thing. Women’s rights are never on the agenda in America either. I am so glad that Egyptian women had Hillary encouraging them to stand up for themselves. And I am so glad that they are doing it!

      • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
        March 8, 2011 at 10:39 pm

        Mostly this wasn’t surprising, and I actually was a bit wary of this when I heard about this being organized, because it sounded like it was thrown together a bit haphazardly or at least without networking with established women’s activist groups), and obviously they needed more and better organization with what they’re up against.

        But there were two things I found kind of interesting. I noticed in a lot of these reports, particularly Nima’s, that there were men marching with women on behalf of women’s rights. Of course it was mostly women, but there seems to have been more men there than one would have thought or enough to have made all the journalists take particular note of it. Men even formed a human chain around the women. Unfortunately the thugs outnumbered them by a lot and broke through.

      • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
        March 8, 2011 at 10:53 pm

        Yes, I hear Hillary in those women’s voices…especially the quote

        …we are half the population. If we stay silent, we will continue to experience all the discrimination of the past.”

  2. Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
    March 8, 2011 at 9:42 pm

    Here’s a funny pic… protesting for more women leadership in the European Parliament…

    Vincent Kessler/Reuters Karima Delli, a French member of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, dressed as a man on International Women’s Day as she took part in a voting session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

    womensday

    • Branjor's avatar Branjor says:
      March 8, 2011 at 9:55 pm

      Looks like Charlie Chaplin, lol.

      I hate to say it but I too am not surprised by what happened in Tahrir Square today.

      • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
        March 8, 2011 at 10:55 pm

        I am not surprised either Branjor…and I hate saying this, but I think the situation is going to get worse over in Egypt for women and girls.

  3. Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
    March 8, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    Ok, so I admit it… now that Parker is gone, I watch Spitzer pretty regularly… it’s about the only MSM I can watch these days…

    Anyhow, here’s a transcript from today’s Spitzer of the Skype chat about the march with Egyptian journalist Ethar El-Katatney (EtharKamal on twitter).

    Coming up, friend of the show, Egyptian journalist Ethar El-Katatney, went to Cairo’s Million Woman March today. Ran into a lot of unhappy men and not as many women as she was hoping. She’ll tell us about that and life in post revolution Egypt when we come back.

    (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

    SPITZER: It was supposed to be a proud declaration of women’s rights. But a protest in Cairo today on International Women’s Day turned ugly. Both anti-feminist and threatening. And it shows just how far Egypt’s revolution still has to go. Our friend, Ethar El-Katatney was there today and joins us now by Skype.

    Ethar, I’m here with Will and E.D. Hill. Will Cain and E.D. Hill. Welcome back to the show.

    ETHAR EL-KATATNEY, EGYPTIAN JOURNALIST, TWEETS AS “ETHARKAMAL: Thanks for having me back. Good to be back.

    HILL: You know, I was probably like a lot of American women watching these protests, and as a person who has spent a lot of time in the Middle East, I was kind of excited to see all these women out there as the face of the protest. And then you see the changes that are coming around. That’s why I was especially disappointed then when the Million Woman March takes place, very few women show up, and the men are shouting them down, telling them to go back home where they belong. I’m wondering, are we getting the type of change that I think here in America we were expecting?

    EL-KATATNEY: The thing is, it would be really naive of us to assume that change is going to appear — change is going to come in a day and night. We were — we know that it’s going to take time, right? But I think perhaps we were a little too optimistic, compared, you know, thinking that the ethos of Tahrir of the mannerisms that we saw in Tahrir where there was no harassment, where, you know, women were even praying right next to men, and there was absolutely no harassment.

    Harassment is always been a huge problem in Egypt. A study noted by the Egyptian center for Women’s Rights a couple of years ago say that least 80 percent of Egyptian women are harassed. So we were perhaps a little too optimistic. But today was just especially disappointing not just because of the turnout but because of the reaction. The fact that they — actually men used slogans that people would shout into Haiti, know the people want the downfall of the regime and twist it and say that people want the downfall of women. You know, that your voice is wrong. You should go home. To the fact that it led to mass sexual harassment and groping and actually turned a little violent.

    And when I was leaving, I actually left. One soldier started — they fired gunshots in the air to disperse the men just because it really could have turned, you know — it wasn’t pretty at all. And that was just really disappointing because the men were so — you know, we live in a patriarchal society. It’s expected that, you know, you have privilege as men and it would be hard to give that up. But the fact that you were so negative — the negativity towards the women. Somebody shouting matches. I was there shooting, and none of this was before. You know, we thought perhaps it would change a little bit. But unfortunately, it just shows you that we still do have a way to go.

    SPITZER: Ethar, breaking the two aspects of this, the response of the men with which, Will, as you point out, unfortunately take longer to change. But why were there so few women in Tahrir Square today? I at least expected a big turnout. Even if the response from some men was not going to change overnight, as you point out, why so few women at this moment to celebrate this enormous victory?

    EL-KATATNEY: Well, I guess part of it is also because of the fears. You know, Tahrir Square, like recently there’s been a law in the past week — there’s so many new developments. So, for example, in Tahrir there wasn’t just the women’s march. There was actually also a protest.

    I was in front of, you know — there was a protest for against the ousting of the Yemeni president. There was also a march for the martyrs of Alexandria. There’s a lot of different side protests in front of the Egyptian and state television building. There was a huge protest today of cops protesting against state coverage of cops in Egypt that had hundreds of people. So there’s a lot of uneasiness.

    It isn’t the state of Egypt in this week, there’s a lot of chaos. And driving home, you know, I got a call, don’t take the way you usually take because there are people throwing rocks and the military is interfering and there’s gunshots. There’s a lot of uneasiness, a lot of unsafety, a lot of thugs.

    You know, the state security building was just stormed, and then all these documents that were revealed. So there’s no police in the country, no state security. A lot of thugs who are capitalizing on the opportunity to loot or to create mayhem and destruction. And that’s actually an important point to make. That for today in the protest, it wasn’t just — it wasn’t the Egyptian men as a general statement. There were a lot of men there. So, you know, it’s also a concern that once they heard there were women, a lot of thugs, a lot of people who came just to harass or to — so it isn’t a generalization on Egypt.

    HILL: With the new faces coming in, are we going to see anything vastly different than what we’ve seen in the past?

    EL-KATATNEY: Well, you know, there’s a poem by Khalil Gibran, who was a very famous poet, and he says, you know, pity the nation that greets a new ruler with cheers and then — tells him goodbye with hootings and then greets a new leader with cheers.

    And this is the thing, there’s just so many changes happening so fast. You know — who is now our ex-prime minister, when he arrived, there was still a lot of optimism. But you know, the problem with the fact that we accomplished this revolution in such a short period of time is that there’s such high expectations. There’s such high hopes that, you know, things are going change like that. But suddenly everyone’s going to have a job, everyone’s going to have money.

    So the new cabinet, people are very optimistic about it. And I was in Tahrir on Friday when the new prime minister arrived.

    HILL: Right.

    EL-KATATNEY: And he was greeted with, you know, cheers and kisses. HILL: But we’ll have to wait —

    EL-KATATNEY: Yes.

    HILL: Wait and see, yes.

    EL-KATATNEY: Exactly.

    HILL: Ethar El-Katatney, thank you very much for staying up until 4:00 a.m. to talk with us.

    EL-KATATNEY: You’re welcome. Thank you.

    • Peggy Sue's avatar Peggy Sue says:
      March 9, 2011 at 1:12 am

      I caught the tail end of Spitzer this evening and watched El-Katatney during that webcast interview. The look of disappointment on her face was unmistakable. Spitzer spoke with her periodically during the intital stages of the revolution when spirits were so high, expectations even higher. And she’d expressed so much hope.

      The one thing I picked up so strongly today listening to many of these women is what we all share in common to different degrees: the deliberate repression of females voices and values–the freedom to carve out our own destiny, be it reproductive/family planning issues, educational, domestic issues, economic opportunity, etc. The languages are different, but the song is sadly the same.

      This is going to be a long haul for these women. We’re suppose to be the beacon for gender equality in this country. And things are far from perfect here. They’re going to need a lot of support in a very long, hard battle.

      • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
        March 9, 2011 at 6:38 am

        Good comment Peggy…

      • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
        March 9, 2011 at 11:00 am

        I saw the interview too and El-Katatney was clearly dejected. She had also stayed up till 4 am her time I think to do the skype chat.

        She had expressed a lot of hope but she’d also been very realistic and knew things were going to be hard when the military took over. I think and trust overall that the women of Egypt who were brave enough to go out yesterday and demand their rights know better than us here in America what is needed there. I just hope they can build more strength in numbers.

  4. Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
    March 8, 2011 at 11:27 pm

    From the Guardian link in the post:

    “Women were caught in the middle and groped,” witness Ahmad Awadalla said. “When I tried to defend them they said, ‘why are you defending women? Are you queer?'”

    • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
      March 8, 2011 at 11:32 pm

      More from the same link… depressing:

      In the Sudanese capital Khartoum, riot police armed with batons and tear gas arrested more than 40 women as they protested against rape and rights abuses following the arrest and alleged rape of Safiya Eshaq, 24, a supporter of anti-government activist group Girifna.

      A planned march in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions to mark the day was also disrupted, despite the organisation gaining a high court order saying it could take place, when police arrested 16 women at the ZCTU offices. The women were released after being briefly detained.

      In Iran pro-opposition protesters gathered in scattered groups in Tehran to mark the day clashed with the riot police who used tear gas and wielded batons to disperse the crowd.

  5. Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
    March 8, 2011 at 11:46 pm

    The request for women to be able to run for president seems to have stuck most in people’s craws (and not just men’s, but other women’s too…)

    From the New Yorker link:

    The men were particularly incensed at the notion that a woman could be President of Egypt. It was, they argued, against a hadith which states that men should not take orders from women. “Don’t you obey your mother?” wondered a colleague of mine, an Egyptian whose style of dress often causes her to be mistaken for a foreigner. “I obey religion,” he replied.

    “They were saying that my opinion did not exist,” my colleague said. “Still, when I asked them to step back, they stepped back.”

    Made me think of this cartoon…

    Olive Oyl for President:

    • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
      March 9, 2011 at 12:07 am

      More from the New Yorker link:

      Men were hardly the only dissenting voices. At one point, a woman in a niqab began screaming at a cluster of people. Her son had died in the protests, and the conduct of the people in Tahrir—particularly the uncovered women—was inappropriate. They were dating, she insisted, not protesting. It was a sad echo of a rumor levelled at the protesters before Mubarak’s resignation, accusing them of KFC-fuelled courtship. Other women objected to the feminist values being voiced, which, they felt, were old-fashioned. Alia Mossallam, a student and writer, said, “There has always been a female presence. If you set yourself apart, you make yourself a spectacle.” Two young women said, simply, “Egypt is in a dangerous time right now. We should wait.”

      Dating not protesting?! Aye yi yi.

      Rebecca Chiao, an American woman who founded Harrassmap, which collects cell-phone reports of sexual harassment in Cairo, was handing out stickers advertising the site with fellow activists. “We are holding pink signs and getting into fights,” Chiao said. Harassment had fallen during the revolution, she said, but was steadily rising back to normal levels, although reports from Tahrir remained scarcer. The group was making its way across the median to the other side of the square where, Chiao said, a chorus of beleaguered women needed their voices. They were stopped a lot, making progress slow. “What are these words?” an Egyptian man wondered, pointing at the sign taped to one of Chiao’s companion’s stomach which read: “Private property. Do not touch.” The woman began to explain. “It is right that people shouldn’t harass, but still men and women are different,” he said.” The woman continued to explain; forty-five minutes later, they were still debating.

      Sigh. What is it about women’s rights that inspires such endless debate?

      Another man, hearing our discussion, put it more gently: “Women have some rights already. Right now, it’s not very important. It will happen eventually.” A passing woman shouted, “You have no right to say that! We have different salaries at work. It is very painful.” People began to close in as the two argued, until one woman was arguing with twenty men for her right, basically, to argue at all.

      When I left, at 5:45, the confrontations were still mostly verbal. Later, though, reports came in of women being harassed or attacked, and pushed from the square. It’s hard to see how, at this moment, anyone would blame that sort of violence on pro-Mubarak thugs. Mubarak is gone. Misogyny might be a tougher foe.

      It’s stuff like the following which makes me wary of the organization of this march…

      The Facebook page advertising the Million Women March was set by Aalam Wassef, the son of Habiba Hassan Wassef, who attended a meeting of women I wrote about in this week’s Talk of the Town.

      Still, on the elevated concrete median across the street from the tents, Wassef was glowing at the turnout, which he estimated at a thousand. “I am ecstatic,” he said. There had been some negative feedback on the Facebook page, but “you can’t print taboos and expect all positive feedback.” Most of the men on the median were repeating the same argument as that in the square: a female President was forbidden by Islam. But the women were arguing back, and that was important. “It’s like lancing an abscess. What’s coming out is disgusting, but it needs to be done,” Wassef said.

      Sigh. That’s true, but you also need to go into battle prepared, and a show of 1000 when you’re calling for millions and we just saw millions gather to oust Mubarak is not going to play well. Not judging the guy, just worried and confused, because while the violence and harassment is far more disturbing than the lower turnout, strength in numbers would help to fight back.

      • Peggy Sue's avatar Peggy Sue says:
        March 9, 2011 at 1:16 am

        Arguing back is an important first step. To remain silent and passive is to be run down by the thugs and Neanderthals.

      • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
        March 9, 2011 at 11:24 am

        Oh I completely agree–arguing back is very important and staying silent wouldn’t help. I’m proud of the people who showed up. But on the organizational side, there seems to have been an element of haste in putting something together on International Women’s Day that I think made this long hard road for women even harder. Yesterday the Western media was busy spinning this from the perspective that women didn’t even show up for “Million Woman March” instead of stressing the women and men who did show up and fought back.

        The protests in Egypt, even though they may have appeared to materialize overnight to us, really were months and months in the making since Khaled Said was murdered. So it’s not fair for others to compare and say women didn’t turn out when they haven’t had enough time to organize around the cause of women’s rights in the New Egypt. But, that’s how it is in the press unfortunately.

  6. Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
    March 9, 2011 at 12:11 am

    Irish Times link:

    Part of the reason the women’s march failed was that many decided to participate in a sit-in staged by Coptic Christians in front of the radio and television building, a few hundred metres from the square. The Copts are protesting the burning of a church in Helwan province during a Christian-Muslim clash over a romance between a Christian man and a Muslim woman, and are urging army protection for Copts who fled the village but seek to return.

  7. Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
    March 9, 2011 at 12:15 am

    NPR link:

    “They said that our role was to stay home and raise presidents, not to run for president,” said Farida Helmy, a 24-year old journalist.

    • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
      March 9, 2011 at 12:19 am

      More:

      Passant Rabie, 23, said she was surprised that the women were abused after the role they played in the uprising. Women were central to the protests, leading chants, spending cold nights in the square and even fighting during the battle of Black Wednesday, when pro-government henchmen attacked the protesters.

      “I thought we were going to be celebrated as women of the revolution because we were present during the days of Tahrir,” Rabie said. “Unless women are included now, we are going to be oppressed.”

      On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, said on Tuesday that the transitions from autocracy in Egypt and Tunisia would be incomplete as long as half of society remained blocked from participating in governance.

      “The United States will stand firmly for the proposition that women must be included in whatever process goes forward,” she said.

    • Peggy Sue's avatar Peggy Sue says:
      March 9, 2011 at 1:18 am

      “They said that our role was to stay home and raise presidents, not to run for president,” said Farida Helmy, a 24-year old journalist.”

      Doesn’t that have a chilling, familiar ring to it? Different country, same sentiment:

      Iron My Shirt!

  8. Thomas Boone's avatar Thomas Boone says:
    March 9, 2011 at 5:36 am

    Three cheers for these brave women who are demanding equal rights! Why shouldn’t a woman be allowed to run for President of Egypt? What about Sabek Nefru, Ashotep, Hathshepsut, Neferitti, and Cleopatra? Of course all the Pharohs, even female, were tyrants but nevertheless Egypt has a proud history of being effectively lead by some consummate and diligent feminine oversight. The notion that a woman should not be President of Egypt now just plain belies ignorance and assumes the iconoclastic stereotype of a woman’s role in a subset of Islamic society. Not even all of Islam sees a woman as so subservient, although it is well known that women are not held as equals in Islamic society. My prayers are with the brave women of Egypt who are standing proud, asserting their human rights, and are doing so with dignity and (hopefully) without violence.

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