Invitation To Lia Sophia Party

Egyptian women claim their role Event of the opposition in the revolution

wave of optimism extends between the Egyptian feminist organizations, after the massive participation of women in popular revolution. The experience in Tahrir Square and the opportunity to be involved in the mobilizations beginning, through a secure platform like the Internet, are some of the causes of this situation.

F. Javier Aguayo - Writing. February 16, 2011. Number 143-144.

"The oppressed people seeking always someone to mistreat or oppress . Now, for the first time in 40 years, these same people have tried the taste of freedom. The men will not return to get their hands on a woman, "with these words Azza Kamel, feminist and writer, explained what she meant for the 20 days of revolution in the minds of Egyptians. Something that has had its greatest expression in the camp of Tahrir Square, where "the women felt free. Each time a man accidentally touched a woman, apologized. Things never seen before ...". Something that may seem strange, but it is not so much in a country where, according to a 2008 study of the Egyptian Centre for women's right, four out of five women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
What is certain is that the internet is full of images of hundreds of women camped in Tahrir square, facing the police who led demonstrations. According to several feminist groups, "where it is usually assumed a 10% participation of women, on this occasion is between 40 and 50% of the protesters in the days before the overthrow Mubarak."

A distinct change .
"Obviously, Egypt continues to be a society and certain values \u200b\u200bpatrriarcale continue to be so entrenched as to be overwhelmed by even a protest as well as innovative as that of January 25, acknowledges Amal Abdel Hady, the New Woman Foundation, trying to keep our feet on the ground in front of this alleged change in the mentality of society
Egypt. Nevertheless, during the last few days have seen things that were unthinkable until now, "women at the head of large protests fraternize with men, prayers, without which women were forced to stand behind, or people of both sexes who slept under the blind, without even knowing ,..." continues Abdel Hady.
At the same time both men and women were present in the preparation of the protest. The fact that the Internet was the medium which was circulated through the idea of \u200b\u200ba mobilization, "offered a secure platform for women, where they felt the fear of the consequences which, until then, had large concentrations of people," says Mozn Hassan, director of the Center Nasra of feminist studies. According to this veteran activist, once the events were dropped as "the natural next step to participation was much easier."

A new scenario now that people have left the square, to see how the events evolve around the new military power, it opens a new stage in key political and social participation of women. For the New Woman Foundation, the greater concern is that "the fact that women were not held during the prosteste keeping in mind the needs of specific rights, can mean that we ignore in this post-Mubarak era," as has happened historically in Egypt.

In order to give visibility to women's role in the whole revolutionary process, this foundation has proposed to collect the testimonies of women who participated in the 18 days of mobilization. With what they want to "keep women's voices in the fight for change, many of whom have participated in this occasion for the first time in political activity. However, "until to now, no group, even those made by young people, has been busy because women's voices to be heard, "said the exponent of the New Woman Foundation.