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Wednesday, 17 May 2006
President Hosni Mubarak's enforcers have a particular way of dealing
with female demonstrators: they sexually humiliate them. The case of
journalist Abir al-Askari is but one example. When she arrived at
Cairo's high court last week for a disciplinary hearing against two
pro-democracy judges, she was grabbed by several men."They drove me
to Sayyida Zeinab police station. I screamed and resisted and they beat
me and pulled my hair and my veil," Ms Askari said. "Right in front of
the police station they kicked me. When people gathered and told them
to stop they replied: 'She's been committing adultery.'"Ms Askari told Human Rights Watch investigators that she was taken to a
room where three female activists from the Kifaya reform group had
previously been abused. "'Nobody will know where you are,' the officer
said. 'You are lost.' They tore at my clothes, my shirt buttons. They
continued to slap and punch me … I was lying on the floor. He placed
his shoe on my face." She was later released.
What this article doesn't mention that when she tried to hide inside a store with her torn cloths awaiting her journalist colleagues to pick her up, the police went inside and told the owner to kick her out or face trouble, so the owner kicked her out. She had to hide behind a street vendor store, gathering her torn cloths in one hand while crying with no one daring to help her out of fear of incurring the wrath of the egyptian police, until her colleagues came and took her away in their car.
When I hear about things like that, I find myself filled with disgust and hatred towards the secuirty apparatus and I feel like weeping for our appaling state of affairs. We are supposidly a middle-eastern country with middle-eastern values. Women are supposed to be protected at all costs. The pritection of our women is part of our Honor. We are raised on such notions. If a woman gets beat up, her cloths torn and sexually assulted by the police in broad day-light with no one doing anything, well, what kind of honor do we have left?
May 17th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Mahomma 3alashan welad seteen metanaka they do things like that. To shock her and humiliate her into submission. But Abeer El Askari is a tough cookie. Kudos to her. Tala3ee deen omohom ya 3abeer!
May 17th, 2006 at 9:34 am
The protection of our women is part of our Honor.
You are joking aren’t you.
Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Hamdy Zakzouk
Minister of Al Awqaf and Chairman of The Supreme Council
For Islamic Affairs …
… on the Egyptian Gov website (Islam and Issues concerning the Muslim Woman ) will put you right about that. He has a list of caveats which explains why women, though equal to men, of course cannot be treated that way because after all they are only - well you know - women.
He lists a few explanatory notes about this specially adapted “equality” viz:
In Islam the male heir inherits double the inheritance of the female this is based upon the responsibilities which are obligatory for men and not for women.
If a woman is afflicted with a chronic disease which makes her unable to perform her marital obligations or if she is barren, the husband under these circumstances is permitted to marry another wife.
Honor my arse.
May 17th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
What happened to Abeer is sickening to say the least…I blogged about her account of the abuse a few days ago.
May 17th, 2006 at 9:48 pm
I can tell by your tone, this truly makes you ashamed. Your very real sorrow at the treatment of this woman, and the state of your country is what makes me think there is hope for all of the ME, to step forward into a 21st century world. You are smart, decent, and thoroughly witty and tho not above a snark or two, essentially a kind and fair man.
I still laugh at the description of your Auntie and her obsession with conspiracy and magic. You family is just as crazy as mine. I think if you could still care about women, all women, and understand about how dignity is applicable to every human, even your aunt, you make a fine example of how decency is possible in the ME.
Keep being you. I will keep reading. I hope your Dad stays well.
F
May 18th, 2006 at 3:44 am
i’m been a middle eastern woman for 23 years, and not for one second have i ever, ever EVER felt prtoected, or even that my protection is important. you mistake control for protection; what middle eastern culture is about is CONTROLLING women, by claiming that it is for our protection. however, the incidents of spousal abuse are very, very high in the middle east; a man has the acknowledged right to beat a female family member; sexual harrasment has reached an all time high in the streets; until very recently, rape charges would be dropped if the rapist offered to marry the woman; i could go on and on and on. i doubt that a single woman would ever agree with ur chracterization of middle eastern culture. on what do u base this opinion of yours?
May 18th, 2006 at 6:39 am
I agree. I don’t want protection from males. I want to be left the hell alone and not interfered with. That’s all. After a while you do get fed up with the extreme patriarchy in the Middle East particularly if you are not from it and weren’t raised with all those assumptions.
May 18th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
o.k. Anna and why do you think that there is such “extreme patrarchy” in the middle east? What is the common thread???? Israel is in the m.e. and does not have such extreme patriarchy. I wonder why???
May 18th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
Not plainly “committing adultery”, but that “she’s used to prostitution (adaab)”, they would say to anyone in the street would try to ease her situation, while at the same time increasing the kicking and spitting to convince any watcher that those *police men* wouldn’t do all that if she weren’t really *guilty* of that formidable sin. It works both ways, you see.
Those thugs will never later have any guilt or regrets about it. They have already convinced themselves that they are soldiers carrying on the orders of their superiors who would carry all the guilt for them, if any. “The devil told me to do it” is another way to put it. Or they, being psychopaths by selection and training, likely enjoy it.
The news in Arabic
Karen,
First, Israel is *implanted* in the middle east; as in silicon. It hasn’t the natural touc…ehem..attitude. Second, I guess it depends on which community within Israel you come from. At least Israelis of Arab origin detect the under currents of patriarchy, and maybe the Africans, and the rest of the gang. No?
May 18th, 2006 at 11:15 pm
alif- Some Israelis are implanted, but by no mean all. Many grew up in the Arab M.E. And yes, I’m sure Israeli Arabs do detect under currents of patriarchy-within their own subculture!
June 1st, 2006 at 9:44 pm
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