Possibility of Counter-Revolution in Egypt

First the Women's Day protests went bad, then the Christians and Muslims started killing one another and NOW there are rumors that a student from our university was kidnapped and is being held for a ransom of 1 to 2 million Egyptian Pounds. Why Egypt, why? There were also clashes downtown between what the media is calling "Pro democracy demonstrators" and supporters of the former regime. In actuality, it may have been between protesters (who are still in the street, not going back to work, and therefore preventing the tourists from returning) and the people who are anxious for the tourists to return for the income to begin trickling into Egypt once again.

Now, there are also rumors that there is a petition going around for the university to suspend classes. Mind you, that public universities in Egypt have been postponed for weeks now. In fact, I do not believe they ever started school for this semester/quarter. The likelihood of a money-hungry institution like mine shutting down school is slim to none. We started school in the middle of a revolution. In actuality, the semester should have been canceled, but the institution is in debt, hence, the push for it to begin despite the chaos. Now the country is falling into a spiral of confusion. There is no leadership, no accountability, and a few individuals are taking advantage of that confusion.

If Egypt wants to rescue its revolution, it should put its differences aside and move forward. The people should move out of Tahrir and clean it up...the square can always be retaken if need be. Everyone should return to their jobs if they are able and should focus on keeping their families and the city safe so that the tourists will return and the revenue will begin again. So far most citizens are able to manage, but soon the starvation will begin. Some cities, especially in Upper Egypt (South), are completely dependent on tourism. Some people have absolutely nothing...their rent walked out of the country as each tourist boarded their flight home.

Change in Egypt has taken place...at first, for the better, but now for the worse. Egyptians should take back their revolutions from the thugs, crooks and criminals. If not, the revolution was never worse fighting for and the nation really was better off under the yoke of the dictator.

The Egyptian Revolution in a nutshell

Hijacking Revolutions: Changes in minorities’ roles in pre and post- revolutionary society in the Middle East and North Africa

International Women’s day was celebrated throughout the world with women in regions in the Middle East and Africa holding peaceful demonstrations demanding their rights as citizens and from sexual harassment. Egyptian women, likewise saw the day as a perfect opportunity to march against discrimination. Rather than being welcomed to protest, they were instead faced with jeers by hecklers who shouted things like “Go back to the house where you belong”. The women were scolded and told that their concerns were not urgent in the recent aftermath of the January 25^th revolution. The women, on the other hand, were appalled by the marginalization that they faced because of the central role that they played in the revolution. 

On the same day, sectarian violence broke out in a Cairo suburb between Christians and Muslims following the burning of a church that occurred last week. Six people, thought to be mostly Christian, were shot dead during tensions, placing the two groups at odds with one another for the first time since the January 1^st church bombing. During the revolution, images of Christians forming rings of protection around their Muslim counterparts as they prayed reached all corners of the globe, reaffirming the image that this was an Egyptian revolution and not an Islamic revolution. Now, as the old regime continues to crumble, the struggle for power is taking shape at the expense of small minority groups like the Egyptian Copts.

This, unfortunately, was not the first time in history that women and minority groups suffered after revolutions that they fought side by side to make successful. In Algeria, women were a central part of the anti-French Colonization movement under the helm of the FLN. After the French finally left, Algerian suffered tremendously, especially during the Algerian civil war between Islamist parties and the state. In Iran, women also played a huge part in the success of the revolution to overthrow the Shah. What followed, however, was the Islamic Revolution, which slowly forced women into an unwanted, legal submission, despite being educated. All women were made to wear the veil and women are not allowed to attend sporting events where men are present. Women participated in each of these movements, yet were never obliged their rights as equal citizens.

Minority groups’ places in society are moved and manipulated during revolutions, which confuses their role in post-revolution society. During revolution, they are lifted up as equal citizens of a movement, but afterwards they are often pushed off to the side and their concerns are considered not urgent or worthy of the nation’s attention. So why do minorities in the Middle East and North Africa continued to be overlooked and ignored after they assist in revolutions and why do they continue to participate in them if they will only be marginalized by society later?

Officials: 6 killed in Egypt sectarian clashes -AP By HAMZA HENDAWI

(Personal Note: And so it begins. I truly pray that the Egyptian people do not allow their revolution to be manipulated by Islamists and thugs as the Iranian Revolution and the Algerian Revolt against the French were hijacked.)

CAIRO – Clashes between Muslims and Christian in the Egyptian capital killed at least six people, security and hospital officials said Wednesday.

They said the clashes took place late Tuesday night and lasted several hours. The fighting involved the use of guns, clubs and knifes, they added. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The clashes began when several thousand Christians protested against the burning last week of a church in a Cairo suburb by a Muslim mob following a deadly clash between Muslims and Christians over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian.

The Christian protesters on Tuesday blocked a vital highway, burning tires and pelting cars with rocks.

An angry crowd of Muslims set upon the Christians and the two sides fought pitched battles for about four hours. The six killed were believed to be mostly Christians who died of gunshot wounds.

Even before Egypt's uprising unleashed a torrent of discontent, tensions had been growing between Christians and Muslims in this country of 80 million.

On New Year's Day, a suicide bombing outside a Coptic church in the port city of Alexandria killed 21 people, setting off days of protests. Barely a week later, an off-duty policeman boarded a train and shot dead a 71-year-old Christian man and wounding his wife and four others.

Happy International Women's Day?

Women around the world celebrated International Women's Day by holding protests demanding their rights and equality. Some simply gathered and held signs stating their demands and concerns, while others dressed up as men to bring attention to their message (Lebanon). Looking back on the day and the success of the women's protests, however, simply shows just how far reaching it is to request the simplest of rights.

Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo called for the end of systematic rapes that have been used as a weapon by armed groups, especially in the East. "At least 8,300 rapes were reported in 2009. Aid workers say the true toll is much higher." -AP There were no reports of any mistreatment during the protests.

However, in Sudan, women also held anti-rape protests. Riot police showed up and 42 of them were arrested during the peaceful demonstration. Here, the state abused its power and completely overlooked the non-political message that the women were attempting to portray. The women are yet to be released.

And then we have Egypt, fresh off of its January 25th revolution high. One would think, with the number of women who participated during the revolution, that women would be allowed a stronger voice in how the country would now grant them more rights. Unfortunately, that was far from the case. Women protesters in Cairo were met with hecklers shouting  things like "go back to the house where you belong". Some were chased and even groped/ sexually harassed during and after the protests, not by security officials, but by the same men who stood by them side by side during the revolution. Sexual harassment has always been an issue in Egypt in recent history, yet despite the new feeling of calm in Cairo, old habits die hard and some attitudes are slow to change.

And so, on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, First Lady Michelle Obama stated that we, as women, have come a long way and she is correct in saying this. One hundred years ago even women in America could not yet vote and now there are female leaders throughout the world exhibiting their bravery and proving their right to be equals. So in the weeks following International Women's Day, let us remember the women who bravely paved the way to fight for our rights throughout the world and let us also keep in mind the women in Africa and the Middle East who still fight daily just for the chance to assert their equality.