A set of videos have been circulating
across various mass media mediums as well as the Facebook, including a
video in which military police soldiers are seen assaulting a veiled
young woman, unveiling her face, disrobing her, dragging her along the
ground and beating her up with their boots all over her body. Another
video reveals the assault on an elderly woman, who is seen being pulled
by her hair and beaten up by military men holding batons. Moreover, a
number of young women have been arrested and beaten up, among whom some
lie injured in hospitals suffering from deteriorated health conditions.
They have been additionally subjected to sexual harassment and
threatened with rape. The list is long and includes among others: Abeer
Said Mohamed Mostafa – Samar Mohamed Saad Abu El Maaty – Sara Ali
Mohamed El Said – Yousra Salah Abeed Metwali – Rasha Khaled Gad Abd El
Mawgod – Marwa Said Seif El Din (in hospital) – Nema Ali Saeed Muslim
(in hospital) – Hend Nafea Badawi (in hospital) – Hadeer Farouk Abd El
Aziz (in hospital).
These assaults come in the context of
acts of violence committed by military police forces in an attempt to
forcefully disperse the Cabinet sit-in. These incidents remind us of the
blatant attacks on women political activists and journalists who took
part in the demonstrations held at the Lawyers' and Journalists'
Syndicates in protest against the referendum on constitutional
amendments that took place 25 May 2005. They also bring to our minds the
violations against young women during the earlier attempt at dispersing
Tahrir sit-in by force on 9 March 2011, after which the arrested young
women were subjected to the so-called "virginity tests".
Once again, we find the same repressive
policies being used, among which we see the targeting of women's bodies
with the aim of shaking young women's determination and resistance as
well as that of their male peers in the protest movement. This comes as a
continuation of all the crimes committed by the previous regime to
forcefully disperse peaceful sit-ins and demonstrations.
The undersigned organisations,
therefore, express their condemnation and full rejection of all forms of
oppression against male and female protesters at the Egyptian Cabinet
headquarters, and demand the following:
-Ceasing all forms of violence committed
against male and female protesters.
-An immediate and just investigation by
an independent judicial body, that would take all the necessary
procedures against those found guilty.
The undersigned organizations ascertain
that these oppressive practices will not deter male and female
protesters from advancing and continuing their struggle to achieve the
revolution's demands: freedom, dignity and social justice.
Signatories:
The Task Force of Combating Sexual
Violence
Coalition of Egyptian Feminist
Organisations:
- CEDAW Egypt Coalition
- The Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement
- Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
- The Egyptian Association for Family Development
- Omi Association for Rights and Development
- Appropriate Communications Center for Development (ACT)
- Woman Development Forum
- New Woman Foundation
- Women and Memory Forum
- Helwan Association for Community Development (Bashayer)
- The Center for Egyptian Women's Legal Assistance
- Nazra for Feminist Studies
- Sahm El Thiqa Association
- The Arab Office for Law
- The Arab Association for supporting Civil Society and Human Rights
- Al Sawahelaiya Association for Community Development
- Port Fouad Association for Childhood and Family Care
- Kalmitna Association for Dialogue and Development
- Mobadroon for Supporting Cultural Development and Media
- Al Ganob Center for Human Rights
- Al Shaheed Center For Defending Rights
- Cairo Center for Development
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