About "Three Ladies in Cairo" is the fictionalized true story of how three Swedish women – grandmother Hilda, mother Ingrid, and the author Anne Edelstam. Description Three Ladies in Cairo is the fictionalized true story of how three Swedish women – grandmother Hilda, mother Ingrid, and Anne herself. Together they discover Egypt throughout the twentieth century’s social changes, up to the country’s first free elections in June 2012. All three learn to cope with the colossal social and … [Read more...]
EGYPT, Sexual Violence must Stop!
April 2013 – A United Nations envoy today expressed dismay at the sexual attacks on women protesters in Egypt, as well as the messages from prominent religious and political leaders that women are to blame. “Egypt’s story in the post-revolutionary period cannot be that of a country whose women marched in support of democracy, only to find their own freedoms denied, their lives directly threatened, and their vibrant political activism stamped out in a climate of fear and insecurity,” said the … [Read more...]
Navi Pillay calls for an end to the violence in Egypt
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has called on all sides in the current unrest in Egypt "to refrain from resorting to violence and to resolve their differences peacefully." More than 50 people are believed to have been killed in Egypt since January 24th, when thousands of Egyptians took to the streets to commemorate the second anniversary of their revolution. Three days later, President Mohammed Morsi declared a state of emergency. Rupert Colville, UN … [Read more...]
Egypt, Human Chain against Sexual Harassment – “I Wish” … “Nefsi”
“I wish I could walk around without being hurt by inappropriate words.” On a Wednesday in May 2012, inspired by snowballing social media discussions on sexual harassment in Egypt, a group of independent activists took the conversation to an offline public. They aimed to build support in Cairo and beyond, using the most simple of approaches: the country’s first ‘human chain’ against sexual harassment. In line with the global UN project, “Safe Cities”, which works to make cities and … [Read more...]
Egyptian women cast votes and rally for their country’s future
“Even if I am not going to live for very much longer, I am voting for the future of my grandchildren.” So states one elderly lady as she waits in front of a polling station in Cairo, voicing the hope and resolve of a nation going to the polls. Over 50 million voters are eligible for Egypt’s 2012 presidential elections, the first since the country’s inspiring revolution, and of them, 23 million are women. Recent UN Women’s analysis has shown that 90.3 per cent of women surveyed are willing … [Read more...]
Care2 – STOP Military Sexual Violence against Egyptian Women!
On March 9th, military police and civilian men attacked and destroyed the camp of peaceful demonstrators in Tahrir Square. 18 women were arrested and dragged to a museum not far away where they were abused and violated.Tell the Head of the military in Egypt to stop the violence against female protesters.»The women were beaten and strip searched as groups of men watched and photographed them. They were also forced to submit to a "virginity test" and told that any woman who was not either married … [Read more...]
WOMEN Taking Action! Avaaz – Blackout:proof the protests!
An extraordinary wave of people power is flooding the Middle East, but autocratic regimes are responding with violence -- and Egypt-style internet blackouts. Let's blackout-proof the protests by providing satellite communications technology and support teams to key organisers: Across the Middle East -- in Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, and more countries every day -- autocratic regimes are trying to crush unprecedented peaceful protests with brutality and blackouts. These countries … [Read more...]