Is this what we call freedom?
Read it here:
CAIRO: A foreign woman was stripped and sexually assaulted on Wednesday evening in Egypt’s iconic Tahrir Square, one eyewitness said on Twitter and anothehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifr confirmed in an email to Bikyamasr.com.
The woman, who’s identity has not been revealed, was taken away in an ambulance after being assaulted for 10 minutes. Her husband reportedly was unable to intervene and witnessed the incident.
“I saw the woman and then dozens of men surrounded her and started grabbing her, when she screamed for help some people came, but they were hit in the face,” wrote one witness.
What happened next was “appalling,” said the trusted witness, who asked for anonymity. “The men just started tearing at her clothes and grabbing her body all over. When she fought back, they pushed her. It was chaos.”
There were unconfirmed reports that the men “violated” her with their hands.
The nationality of the woman is unknown at the current time.
Throughout the day, sexual harassment towards women has been increasing and more and more reports of women being grabbed and groped began being reported.
Activists called the attacks on women completely “unacceptable” and must be exposed no matter what. They demanded an end to all violence toward women.
“What happened in Tahrir today has no justification and must be fully exposed even if it taints Tahrir!” wrote EgyptSecularist on Twitter.
And more:
Heather still doesn’t know how she made it home on Wednesday night after being in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. The Arab-American arrived back at her Cairo flat without pants, having had them torn off downtown. She and her two roommates were victims of a mob attack by people in the iconic square on Wednesday, as protesters demonstrated against the military junta.
According to Heather, an Arab-American living in the Egyptian capital, she and her Swedish and Spanish roommates took to Tahrir as thousands were converging there to mark one-year since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak.
“They started fighting over who was going to do what,” Heather told Bikyamasr.com in an exclusive interview. She came forward after seeing the report on a foreign woman who was stripped naked and assaulted only hours after her own incident.
“My roommates and I fell to the ground when they attacked us. The people pulled our pants off even as we yelled and tried to fight,” she continued.
The incident occurred around 7:30 PM local time, just as night was taking hold of the city. Heather said the attack happened “in the center of Tahrir.”
She said that after the men pulled their pants off, they continued to grab and grobe the women’s bodies. “It is disgusting. They put fingers up my ass,” she revealed.
Luckily, the women were somehow pulled from the violence by a man and a woman and taken to safety. She said she doesn’t recall exactly how she was saved from the violent attack.
“I was shaking and crying and the man and woman just grabbed us and pulled us out and took us out of the square.”
Later in the night, the issue of sexual violence toward women was sparked after an eyewitness reported on the micro-blogging site Twitter that a foreign woman was stripped, groped and assaulted by another mob of men in the square.
The woman, who’s identity has not been revealed, was taken away in an ambulance after being assaulted for 10 minutes. Her husband reportedly was unable to intervene and witnessed the incident.
“I saw the woman and then dozens of men surrounded her and started grabbing her, when she screamed for help some people came, but they were hit in the face,” wrote one witness.
What happened next was “appalling,” said the trusted witness, who asked for anonymity. “The men just started tearing at her clothes and grabbing her body all over. When she fought back, they pushed her. It was chaos.”
There were unconfirmed reports that the men “violated” her with their hands.
The nationality of the woman is unknown at the current time.
Throughout the day, sexual harassment towards women has been increasing and more and more reports of women being grabbed and groped began being reported.
Activists called the attacks on women completely “unacceptable” and must be exposed no matter what. They demanded an end to all violence toward women.
“What happened in Tahrir today has no justification and must be fully exposed even if it taints Tahrir!” wrote EgyptSecularist on Twitter.
Heather said that she came forward to talk about what happened to her “because people need to know what goes on. It is the only way to start making it a problem that will have to be dealt with.”
However, many people told her to not reveal what happened to her because she was told, “it would hurt the image of the revolution.” But Heather said after seeing the reports of others and their assaults, “I felt it was right to say something.”
The incident brings memories of reporter Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted the night former President Hosni Mubarak gave up power.
A mob of men ripped the 40-year-old correspondent away from her crew and bodyguard, tearing at her clothes and beating her in broad daylight.
“People don’t really know that much about [post-traumatic stress disorder],” she told the New York Daily News in her latest interview on the incident. ”There’s something called latent PTSD. It manifests itself in different ways. I want to be free of it, but I’m not.”
In an interview with “60 minutes” in April, Logan spoke publicly about the incident for the first time. She confided that the attack lasted for about 25 minutes, as 200 to 300 men assaulted her. She feared for her life and imagined that she would not survive, she explained.
Logan was finally pulled to safety by an Egyptian woman and a soldier who witnessed the attack.
She and her team were brought back to their hotel, where she received an examination and medical treatment. She returned to the United States the following morning where she entered hospital for four days.
Logan confided in her latest interview that nightmares about the incident come at unexpected times, like when she is tucking her infant daughter into bed.
Instances of sexual assaults on female journalists covering the events in Tahrir Square have continued in the year since Mubarak’s ouster.
According to studies conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Right (ECWR) in 2008, 98 percent of foreign women and 83 percent of Egyptian women surveyed had experienced sexual harassment in Egypt.
Meanwhile, 62 percent of Egyptian men confessed to harassing women and 53 percent of Egyptian men faulted women for “bringing it on.”
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Betty Saadeh and Noor Daoud: More Arab Women Defying Expectations
More in my series on Arab Women Defying Expectations
Originally appearing in NPR
Palestine might not seem like a breeding ground for race car drivers. After all, the area is dotted with checkpoints and roadblocks, hundreds of obstacles that can cramp a driver's ability to explore a car's limits.
But that hasn't stopped a group of Palestinian women from driving very fast, winning races and making a name for themselves along the way.
"'In Saudi Arabia, women are prevented from driving - here in Palestine we have women who drive race cars," says an official in the Palestinian Motor Sport and Motorcycle Federation.
That's a quote from a feature article by Ruth Pollard in The Sydney Morning Herald, focusing on two members of Palestine's Speed Sisters, Betty Saadeh and Noor Daoud. The drivers are also a hit on Facebook.
In fact, Daoud has had her right to drive taken away before — in 2009, after Israeli police caught her going around 125 mph, she says. But she still drives her modified and stripped-down BMW at the track:
"'I like to go to Betunia when it is quiet on a Friday, throw down some cones and practice my turns. Every time I am mad or stressed I just go there and take it out in my driving," Daoud says.... 'They cannot believe that a girl has been driving that way. I love it.'"
And in December, Daoud raced in Israel's first (legal) car race in the coastal resort of Eilat, featuring Formula cars and a grand prix format. She was able to compete because her ID places her residency in East Jerusalem. Daoud also has ties to America, having been born in Texas and studied in Florida.
Saadeh, 31, also has international ties — she was born in Mexico, where her father was a pro racer in the 1980s. Now she's the top female driver in Palestine.
In a recent article in The Jewish Chronicle, Jessica Elgot writes:
"Despite her glamorous image, bright blonde hair and make-up, Ms. Sa'adeh is a serious competitor, who has raced across the West Bank and in Jordan, winning four out of five races. 'I'm ranked in the top eight in Palestine, including the boys,' she said proudly.... 'I have never had any negative reaction from anybody. I have supporters from all over the world. I have Israeli fans, but they can't come to watch my races, because they take place in Palestine.'"
The Speed Sisters were featured in a story on NPR in 2010. Now they have their own website, and a film about their exploits is slated to enter production this month. Last week, they were invited by Britain's motorsports association to visit the famed Silverstone track, home of the British Grand Prix.
That's all fine with the head of the Palestinian motorsport federation, Khaled Qaddoura, who has been trying to return motorsports to prominence in Palestine.
Pollard writes, "Seemingly nonplussed by having a team of glamorous, talented Palestinian women moving up the rankings in his sport, he says: "I have no problem with it - they love to race and they are good at it. We are proud to have them."
Originally appearing in NPR
Palestine might not seem like a breeding ground for race car drivers. After all, the area is dotted with checkpoints and roadblocks, hundreds of obstacles that can cramp a driver's ability to explore a car's limits.
But that hasn't stopped a group of Palestinian women from driving very fast, winning races and making a name for themselves along the way.
"'In Saudi Arabia, women are prevented from driving - here in Palestine we have women who drive race cars," says an official in the Palestinian Motor Sport and Motorcycle Federation.
That's a quote from a feature article by Ruth Pollard in The Sydney Morning Herald, focusing on two members of Palestine's Speed Sisters, Betty Saadeh and Noor Daoud. The drivers are also a hit on Facebook.
In fact, Daoud has had her right to drive taken away before — in 2009, after Israeli police caught her going around 125 mph, she says. But she still drives her modified and stripped-down BMW at the track:
"'I like to go to Betunia when it is quiet on a Friday, throw down some cones and practice my turns. Every time I am mad or stressed I just go there and take it out in my driving," Daoud says.... 'They cannot believe that a girl has been driving that way. I love it.'"
And in December, Daoud raced in Israel's first (legal) car race in the coastal resort of Eilat, featuring Formula cars and a grand prix format. She was able to compete because her ID places her residency in East Jerusalem. Daoud also has ties to America, having been born in Texas and studied in Florida.
Saadeh, 31, also has international ties — she was born in Mexico, where her father was a pro racer in the 1980s. Now she's the top female driver in Palestine.
In a recent article in The Jewish Chronicle, Jessica Elgot writes:
"Despite her glamorous image, bright blonde hair and make-up, Ms. Sa'adeh is a serious competitor, who has raced across the West Bank and in Jordan, winning four out of five races. 'I'm ranked in the top eight in Palestine, including the boys,' she said proudly.... 'I have never had any negative reaction from anybody. I have supporters from all over the world. I have Israeli fans, but they can't come to watch my races, because they take place in Palestine.'"
The Speed Sisters were featured in a story on NPR in 2010. Now they have their own website, and a film about their exploits is slated to enter production this month. Last week, they were invited by Britain's motorsports association to visit the famed Silverstone track, home of the British Grand Prix.
That's all fine with the head of the Palestinian motorsport federation, Khaled Qaddoura, who has been trying to return motorsports to prominence in Palestine.
Pollard writes, "Seemingly nonplussed by having a team of glamorous, talented Palestinian women moving up the rankings in his sport, he says: "I have no problem with it - they love to race and they are good at it. We are proud to have them."
Friday, January 20, 2012
The IDF? How gay!
Shamelessly stole from a Zionist website, because its too funny....
From Israellycool
But- and this is the funny part- he didnt make this up. It comes straight from the Al-Qassam English Forum
AS SALAAM'ALEYKUM WA ARAHMATULLAH WA BARAKATUHU, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ISLAM
I THINK THE ATTACHED VIDEO-LINK SHOWS THE HOMOSSEXUAL CHARACTER OF THE ZIONIST ARMY! THEY ARE THOSE WHO LOST THEIR SELF-RESPECT AND BROKE THEIR ALLIANCE WITH ALLAH (SUBHANA WA TAALA)!!! INSHA'ALLAH WE WILL DESTROY THE ARMY OF THE GAYS AND LESBIANS, BECAUSE ALLAH IS GREATER!!!
I SEEK REFUGE IN THE NAME OF ALLAH AGAINST THE ACCURSED SHAYTAN, SO THAT WE MAY NEVER GIVE UP OUR RIGHT TO THE LAND OF PALESTINE, BECAUSE IT IS OUR DUTY NOT TO ALLOW THE PEOPLE OF LIWAT/LUTIYYA TO TAKE CARE OF IT! THEY COMMIT ADDULTERY AND THEY ARE SODOMITES, WHO PREFER THE EVIL THINGS THAN THE LAWFULL ONES...
ALLAH (SUBHANA WA TAALA) SAYS IN AL QUR'AN (SURATU AL-NAML - 27):
وَلُوطًا إِذۡ قَالَ لِقَوۡمِهِۦۤ أَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلۡفَـٰحِشَةَ وَأَنتُمۡ تُبۡصِرُونَ
أَٮِٕنَّكُمۡ لَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ شَہۡوَةً۬ مِّن دُونِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ*ۚ بَلۡ أَنتُمۡ قَوۡمٌ۬ تَجۡهَلُونَ
"And Lot! when he said unto his folk: Will ye commit abomination knowingly? (54) Must ye needs lust after men instead of women? Nay, but ye are folk who act senselessly. (55)"
The film in question?
Here it is:
From Israellycool
But- and this is the funny part- he didnt make this up. It comes straight from the Al-Qassam English Forum
AS SALAAM'ALEYKUM WA ARAHMATULLAH WA BARAKATUHU, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ISLAM
I THINK THE ATTACHED VIDEO-LINK SHOWS THE HOMOSSEXUAL CHARACTER OF THE ZIONIST ARMY! THEY ARE THOSE WHO LOST THEIR SELF-RESPECT AND BROKE THEIR ALLIANCE WITH ALLAH (SUBHANA WA TAALA)!!! INSHA'ALLAH WE WILL DESTROY THE ARMY OF THE GAYS AND LESBIANS, BECAUSE ALLAH IS GREATER!!!
I SEEK REFUGE IN THE NAME OF ALLAH AGAINST THE ACCURSED SHAYTAN, SO THAT WE MAY NEVER GIVE UP OUR RIGHT TO THE LAND OF PALESTINE, BECAUSE IT IS OUR DUTY NOT TO ALLOW THE PEOPLE OF LIWAT/LUTIYYA TO TAKE CARE OF IT! THEY COMMIT ADDULTERY AND THEY ARE SODOMITES, WHO PREFER THE EVIL THINGS THAN THE LAWFULL ONES...
ALLAH (SUBHANA WA TAALA) SAYS IN AL QUR'AN (SURATU AL-NAML - 27):
وَلُوطًا إِذۡ قَالَ لِقَوۡمِهِۦۤ أَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلۡفَـٰحِشَةَ وَأَنتُمۡ تُبۡصِرُونَ
أَٮِٕنَّكُمۡ لَتَأۡتُونَ ٱلرِّجَالَ شَہۡوَةً۬ مِّن دُونِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ*ۚ بَلۡ أَنتُمۡ قَوۡمٌ۬ تَجۡهَلُونَ
"And Lot! when he said unto his folk: Will ye commit abomination knowingly? (54) Must ye needs lust after men instead of women? Nay, but ye are folk who act senselessly. (55)"
The film in question?
Here it is:
Monday, January 2, 2012
Convening the network. What next BDS?
The local "Palestinian solidarity" (anti-Israel groups) periodically meet to "build solidarity" (pat each other on the back) and to engage in strategic planning. Its a fascinating thing to observe, because where else would you find groups that should be at odds with each other (Hello? American Muslims for Palestine and Queers United Against Israeli terror) united by their solidarity with the Palestinian people (and their hatred for the Jewish state)
The theme of the most recent meeting was "Yeah we rule, but can we ratchet it up a bit? (Noura, habiti, we all love you, you know that, but we all don't agree with your politics. Some of us come simply to observe- and see this as an interesting sociological experiment)
BDS apparently is going terrific, thank you for asking. 2011 was the year of the flash mob, after all. "Look at all the great flash mobs we made. Look how efficiently we spammed them across social media. Look how many hits we got."
But it was hard to ignore the elephant in the room- there hasn't been one real BDS success locally, and this is the bay area, the most progressive community in the country. Except of course for Seattle, but they had Rachel Corrie to inspire them, and no one seems willing to fill her shoes.
The consumer product boycotts are met with buycotts (and oh, yes, those Zionists (Jews) can sure spend money. As a result , actions are planned quietly, and implemented without fanfare, and only promoted when they are over. But what good is a publicity stunt if you need to shy away from publicity? And after all, the very fact that the Zionists(Jews) fight back shows how threatened they feel by our strategy.
So whats on for 2012? Teach ins. More conferences. Promoting Palestinian culture. (You see, we ARE a real people) More lectures. (Omar Bargoutti makes HOW MUCH per appearance??????) Look for more vandalism of Israeli products. Look for more attempts to find parallels with the Occupy movement. And look for bay area public transit to be the current object du hate.
Let the good times roll.
The theme of the most recent meeting was "Yeah we rule, but can we ratchet it up a bit? (Noura, habiti, we all love you, you know that, but we all don't agree with your politics. Some of us come simply to observe- and see this as an interesting sociological experiment)
BDS apparently is going terrific, thank you for asking. 2011 was the year of the flash mob, after all. "Look at all the great flash mobs we made. Look how efficiently we spammed them across social media. Look how many hits we got."
But it was hard to ignore the elephant in the room- there hasn't been one real BDS success locally, and this is the bay area, the most progressive community in the country. Except of course for Seattle, but they had Rachel Corrie to inspire them, and no one seems willing to fill her shoes.
The consumer product boycotts are met with buycotts (and oh, yes, those Zionists (Jews) can sure spend money. As a result , actions are planned quietly, and implemented without fanfare, and only promoted when they are over. But what good is a publicity stunt if you need to shy away from publicity? And after all, the very fact that the Zionists(Jews) fight back shows how threatened they feel by our strategy.
So whats on for 2012? Teach ins. More conferences. Promoting Palestinian culture. (You see, we ARE a real people) More lectures. (Omar Bargoutti makes HOW MUCH per appearance??????) Look for more vandalism of Israeli products. Look for more attempts to find parallels with the Occupy movement. And look for bay area public transit to be the current object du hate.
Let the good times roll.
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