Arab Spring Time in Saudi Cyberspace

Not more than two years ago, the concept of reform in Saudi Arabia would have been as much an oxymoron as business ethics or airline cuisine. In recent months, however, the Arab Spring’s uncertain winds of change have finally begun to sweep into the world’s last forbidden kingdom. Finding themselves alone in a crowd (of revolution) in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s monarchs are quickly realizing that their secret police and petrodollars may be no match for their citizens’ technology-driven empowerment.

On March 1, Saudi security forces cracked down on a woman-led protest in the city of Buraidah, known as the nerve center of Saudi Arabia’s ultraconservative Wahabbist ideology. Over 160 people, mostly women and children, were arrested after erecting a tent camp to pressure the government to free their imprisoned husbands whom they claim have been detained for years without visitation or access to legal counsel. The Saudi government claims that the detainees are part of a “deviant group,” a term given to suspected Al Qaeda sympathizers or Islamist political opposition groups across the Gulf.

News of the arrests spread like wildfire. Protests in support of the Buraidah women were called for by activists from the Shiite minority in the Eastern Province and liberal reformists in Riyadh and Jidda. The mobilization of Saudi conservatives, liberals and minorities against the government’s repressive policies bore a dangerous resemblance to the red-green alliances that toppled governments from Cairo to Tunis. While turnout at the demonstrations was limited due to the government’s ban on political gatherings, the Saudi Twittersphere was teeming with anger.

Two weeks later, the government-sponsored Arab News daily published a cover story condemning what it deemed “abusive” actions by Saudi Twitter users. The story mentioned that the authorities were mulling over a plan to link Twitter accounts with their users’ identification numbers. Soon after, the story was pulled from the online version of the newspaper without explanation.

For one of the most Internet-privy societies on the planet, any move to link Twitter accounts with personal ID numbers would result in a mass exodus to other online forums that are not monitored. Saudi Arabia ranks number one in the world for Twitter users per-capita, with an estimated 51 percent of all Saudi Internet users maintaining an account with the social media network. Analysts suggest that any such move would result in a 60 percent reduction of Twitter usage in the country — a true window onto how many Saudis are voicing dissent against their government.

Still, on March 31, the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission instructed Skype, WhatsApp and Viber to comply with local regulations or risk being shut down. These applications are Internet-based communications services that are both free of charge and not subject to the kingdom’s telecommunications regulations.

The Saudi government has a strong interest in limiting social media and online communications services. Protests are being increasingly organized through use of the WhatsApp messaging application. Political dissidents are able to use Skype to communicate with human rights organizations and foreign media networks without fear of government monitoring. Some government employees and those with ties to the royal family have begun to exploit Twitter to disseminate information regarding corruption in the kingdom.

The Saudi government is, however, becoming increasingly hesitant about limiting social media and other communications because of the potential for a political backlash. Freedom of speech and communication were a hallmark demand of popular uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, with attempts to cut online activity serving to fuel discontent rather than mitigate unrest. Saudi Arabia is already a favorite target for civil rights activists across the globe, and a ban on social media would only add to a long list of reasons for further divestment and isolation campaigns.

As an alternative, the Saudi government has begun encouraging loyalists to condemn and pursue those suspected of online dissent rather than close the outlets altogether. In recent weeks, a Shura Council member filed a lawsuit against a critical Twitter user, while the government-appointed imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca dedicated his Friday sermon on April 5 to condemning the social network, calling it a “threat to national unity.”

As the government remains confounded by its inability to control online dissent, there is no doubt that the rising tide of anger across Saudi cyberspace has begun to spill over into physical reality. Unwillingly, the government has been forced to wrestle with undertaking previously unimaginable reforms with regard to women’s rights and employment opportunities for millions of young, educated citizens. With social media as their vehicle, Saudis are threatening to take control of their country’s destiny for the first time in history, and there may be nothing their government can do about it.

By DANIEL NISMAN

سقوط الدولة المصرية: غياب قواعد اللعبة السياسية

من ساعة 25 يناير 2011 لم أرى أي فصيل سياسي في مصر يتحدث عن وضع قواد أساسية و واضحة و بسيطة تكون أساس إعادة بناء النظام السياسي في مصر.

 

القواعد دي غير تقديمها، كان لازم يبقى عليها إجماع... تكون مجموعة مبادئ لا يتنازع عليها أي فصيل سياسي: ليبرالي، إسلامي/ديني، يساري، إلخ

من الأمثلة في التاريخ هو إعلان الإستقلال الأمريكي. كان إعلان إستقلال لكنه كان إعلان مبادئ. الإعلان كان لا يزيد على صفحة وحدة.

الوقت بين إعلان الإستقلال لحد وضع الدستور الأمريكي كان 11 سنة!في هذه الأثناء كان إعلان الإستقلال ومبادئه هم قواعد اللعبة السياسية في امريكا.

الليبرالية لايمكنها تقديم أي حلول لولم يكن هناك قواعد واضحة حتى وإن كانت أقل من المستوى لئن اللمنهج الليبرالي يعتمد على البناء و التصحيح.

 

 

 

 

لكن مصر في السنتين إلي فاتوا و بالذات الفترة الأخيرة تفتقد لأي معالم واضحة و مطبقة تعطي ضمانات و تطمينات لكل الأطراف السياسية.

 

 

و الأسباب معروفة... فالإخوان تغطرسوا و ابعدوا الأخر و شكلوا قواعد اللعبة و غيروها على أهوائهم كما تطورت الأحداث.

 

هم كدة فاكرين انهم على طريق النجاح... لكن اللي مش فهمينه إنه لا يمكنهم تحقيق حتى اهدافهم الضيقة من غير قواعد واضحة مطبقة بحياد على الجميع.

 

و عشان كدة اسلوبهم و منهجهم لن يخلق إلا نظام مهلهل ساقط كالوضع في باكستان.

 

ما يحدث في مصر هو انها ما بقتش دولة قانون... لكنها دولة ساقطة... Failed State... أو على طريقها لذلك.

 

Brides Bought, Sold and Resold

With millions more men than women in India,  many wonder about the state of bachelorhood in India.

There have been arguments that this “shortage” of women [as if women are a commercial resource] would force the ‘gender’ ratio to fix itself! But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

The gender ratio keeps plummeting, and you don’t have communities going into panic saying “We need to find a woman for sex and reproduction!!”   Why is this economic/ “women as commodity” theory not working out the way it was assumed it would?

Perhaps because Indian men indeed view women as “commodity!”  And since there is a shortage of “female commodity” the users have found other methods of procuring women! They are now BUYING, SELLING, AND RECYCLING! It is another response to “commodity shortage”, and is essentially the Indian version of DOMESTIC SEX-TRAFFICKING.   This is a practice in India that is as old as female gendercide, and there are reports that it existed even as early as the 1900s.  Only now, with plummeting gender ratios, the practice is out in the open and increasing rapidly.  It is often referred to as ‘BRIDE-TRAFFICKING.’

Much of this sex-trafficking is in the guise of ‘marriage.’   Each family, community and people involved call it a ‘marriage.’  The girl or woman is sold as a ‘bride’ to a man.  She may be married to one man in a family but is used for sex and reproduction by the other men within the same family.  She is then re-sold again as a ‘bride’ to another family.  Some women are sold and resold up to four times, and there are indications that there are thousands of such ‘brides’ being trafficked in the name of ‘marriage.’ Most of these girls are 15 years or younger and often kidnapped and sold into “bride-trafficking”.

Government officials explain their lack of action against this form of sex-trafficking with, “”If they are legally wedded, what can we do.”

However, from many rural areas, families will often sell their daughters to a commercial “agent” for as little as U.K. £15

There is one report of a man beheading his “bought” wife for refusing to sleep with his brothers.

Munni who was forced to have sex with her husbands brothers, has had three sons from them.  It is interesting that all her children are boys, no girls.   It is believed that there may be many more women like Munni in the region. Here is Munni’s story in her words:

“My husband and his parents

said I had to share myself with his brothers…

They took me whenever they wanted – day or night.

When I resisted, they beat me with

anything at hand…Sometimes they threw me

out and made me sleep outside or they poured kerosene over

me and burned me.”



ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS: Claire Pismont and Delphines are members of The 50 Million Missing Campaign’s Photographers Group on Flickr.   supported by more than 2400 photographers from around the world.   To see more of each of their works, please click on the pictures.

how horrible !!!!! Proud Muslims raping Coptic Christians in #Egypt in the daytime

how horrible !!!!! Proud Muslims raping Coptic Christians in #Egypt in the daytime

Proud Muslims raping Coptic Christians in Egypt in the daytime from semo on Vimeo.

#Burma : Satellite Images Detail Destruction in Meiktila

Burma: Satellite Images Detail Destruction in Meiktila

 

 

 The Burmese government should thoroughly investigate and hold accountable those who incited and committed deadly violence in Meiktila in central Burma from March 20 to 22, 2013. Decisive government action to combat impunity, end discrimination, and promote tolerance among religious groups is needed to end the tide of attacks against Muslim communities.

An estimated 40 people were killed and 61 wounded in the clashes between Muslims and majority Buddhists in Meiktila in the Mandalay Region. Satellite images analysed by Human Rights Watch show the scale of the destruction: an estimated 828 buildings, the vast majority residences, were totally destroyed and at least 35 other buildings were partially destroyed. Areas with near total destruction were concentrated within three locations in Meiktila measuring more than 24 hectares in total area west and northeast of the city’s main market. The destruction appears similar to satellite imagery of towns affected by sectarian violence in Arakan State in 2012, in which arson attacks left large, clearly defined residential areas in ashes.

“The government should investigate responsibility for the violence in Meiktila and the failure of the police to stop wanton killings and the burning of entire neighborhoods,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Burma’s government should have learned the lessons of recent sectarian clashes in Arakan State and moved quickly to bolster the capacity of the police to contain violence and protect lives and property.”


Meiktila (Main Damage Area 1)
442 likely residential buildings destroyed or severely damaged.
Move the slider to compare images from before and after the violence.

Meiktila (Main Damage Area 2)
345 likely residential and commercial buildings destroyed and severely damaged
Move the slider to compare images from before and after the violence.

According to a needs assessment released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of HumanitarianAffairs (OCHA), over 12,000 people were displaced by the violence in Meiktila and are in shelters around the town.
Since the Meiktila violence, attacks against Muslims have occurred elsewhere in central Burma, including Okpho, Gyobingauk, and Minhla townships of Pegu region. Soldiers reportedly fired warning shots in the air to disperse protesters in Pegu, and an estimated nine townships in Burma are under emergency provisions or curfew, limiting public assembly.
The spread of anti-Islamic sentiment and religious intolerance is a serious challenge to the rights of Muslims in Burma. Some well-known members of the Buddhist monkhood, or Sangha, have given sermons and distributed anti-Muslim tracts and directives that call on Buddhist residents to boycott Muslim businesses and shun contact with Muslim communities.
Burma’s 2008 Constitution contains provisions that ensure religious freedom and states that the government should “assist and protect the religions it recognizes to its utmost.” President Thein Sein’s office on March 28 called for “earnest effort[s] to control and address all forms of violence including instigations that lead to racial and religious tensions in the interest of the people in accord with the Constitution and existing laws.”
Such efforts need to be accompanied by strong measures, including holding those who planned, organized, and carried out the recent violence accountable, irrespective of the person’s position or the community from which they originate. The government should also make it clear that it will not tolerate incitement to violence, especially by clergy or others in positions of authority.
The government should also take urgent steps to ensure that the police respond impartially to violence. During the violence in Arakan State in June and October, police frequently sided with the majority Buddhist community against the minority Rohingya Muslim population. Frequently the police did nothing to stop the violence against Muslims and in many cases joined with Buddhist mobs to attack predominantly Muslim villages.
“Burma’s government and political, religious, and community leaders should demand an end to the hate speech that has fuelled violence and discrimination against communities in Burma’s fragile multicultural society,” Adams said. “Decisive government action according to the rule of law is critically important to deter extremists and anyone else using violence to further economic, religious, and political agendas.”

 

#yemen Smaller absolute In The world

Smaller absolute in the world facing her father to recover her money and save her sister

seems to be still a long way to go before the Yemeni girl, Nujood Ahdal , before they turn her dreams and reality to it.

After having gained fame after extracted the right of divorce from a husband associated with him against her will in the eight-year-old, Nujood finds itself again facing difficult circumstances with her ​​father, who put his hand on the money, and began planning to marry her baby sister.

Between her dream of becoming a lawyer defending the oppressed, press or pursue their rights, became Highlands - which has gained the title of the world's smallest absolute after they received the dislocation at the age of nine - in the heart of the new suffering, restore her father entered it.

The girl, who won the "Woman of the Year" in 2008 to become a symbol of all Yemeni in addressing early marriage, spoke to Mendoah site in Sanaa, she suffers today from beating her father to her and her sisters and her mother, after laying his hand on the full monthly amount which was received from the proceeds of selling novel written about Amabadtha caused by forcing them to marry.

Highlands lost money in the hands of her father

Nujood says, French publishing house that issued the novel translated into 19 languages ​​for their suffering, had been allocated a $ thousand dollars per month, in addition to providing a two-story house, securing education expenses.

But her father put his hand on the funds allocated to it, making it a material of living is very difficult.

She explains Nujood story, saying: "The father rented an apartment and shop on the first floor of the house, and combines it rents and puts it on his wives, and when I took Rent months to pay electricity and water bills so as not to separate us, shouted Ali and almost hit me .. was give me five thousand riyals ( about $ 25) then declined, and now my mother and my brothers live in difficult circumstances, because he spent on his wives, but I Voaich in my brother's house. "

She added: "I left home in search of safety from the screams and beatings that usually renewed when visiting my parents for the house, because he wants to output my mother and brothers of the house and soothe his wives."

She noted that the proceeds of the book up to her father's account, and spend it as he pleases, and said: "I have divorced one of his wives and marry another last year, and is now spent on his second and third wife .. But we have God."

Highlands: I no longer suffer only to my mother and my sister

And stresses the Highlands, which at the age of now 14 years, they are no longer hurting itself but "feared for her mother," and the fate of her sister small, Haifa, which at the age of now 13 years old, and wants her father to marry the brother of his wife last, which rejects Highlands .

Nujood says: "I support my sister not to marry, because I realized the existence of a legal age for marriage, and I do not like that tormented my sister like me."

And reveal Highlands, which preoccupied her story of millions around the world, all over the threat, saying: "miss my father when his wives for weeks and when it comes to home starts beating and problems, on one occasion Okhava Boukngerh .. my sister Haifa was forced to flee and resort to a uncles for two months, but returned home beyond because of increasing problems with my father and beat him for my mother. "

And conditions left to the school says Nujood, depriving her father of allocations for education, along with tense security situation during the recent demonstrations, and particularly measles region near the house, prevented the continuation of the study.

Also reported that it had received threats from a particular phone number, and had been prosecuted on one occasion when she returned from school, "which scared me in the absence of support me to achieve my ambition to return to school," according to the Highlands.

But Nujood still sticking to achieve the dream of educational attainment, she says: "I wish to travel out of Yemen, and go make me strong testimony to my father and in front of everyone."

Nujood lacks efforts lawyer

In the absence of a lawyer Shaza Nasser, which helped the art of legal battle and shared her award "Woman of the Year" "study abroad", did not find the boys Yemeni choice but to human rights activist Abdel-Alim Hamidi, who helped her to get ownership documents her home, as well as to extract passport.

Says Hamidi, who attended the meeting between CNN Arabic and Highlands, the latter facing many social problems, especially in light of the case of "ignorance and intolerance", which controls the case and their relationship with her family.

Nujood's father: boy and owned the right of the father

For his part, denied the father Nujood accusations by the daughter over placing his hand on the money and use it to link to the wives are new, and the attempt to coerce her younger sister for marriage.

Ali al-Ahdal for CNN Arabic: "I married my own money, I also borrowed from the people, and did not stretch out my hand to my daughter's money."

Ahdal reported that actually receive $ 900 out of thousand dollars Publishing House had pledged a month, and denied that he had acquired the full amount.

He said that amount is subject to the sharing, you get Nujood $ 500 of it, and the return of apartment and rental shop on the ground floor of the house back to them and to her mother.

Ahdal already acknowledged his desire to marry off his daughter Haifa, Nujood's younger sister, stressing that it already received her dowry, the amount of 500 thousand riyals (more than $ 2,300) from a man who Bouktabtha, "and was the disbursement of the whole family," he said.

He said: "I have the consent of the girl Haifa, her mother and her big brother Mohammad, a condition of this pony," he said, adding that if the family refused Haifa marriage, they should re-dowry that Qdoh.

Ahdal said he still pays 25 thousand riyals (116 dollars) rent the great house of his son Mohammed.

He argued: "The boy and have a king to his father .. or are they want Mkasemta in my children?"

By Nujood is still a long

And it seems, is still a long way to go Nujood to overcome the difficulties and achieve her dream, as it became clear that the access to freedom of divorce of man Ivegaha was various types of physical and psychological torment, what is the beginning of a journey of a thousand miles.

Homeland security bans “Jews of #Egypt ”

Homeland security bans “Jews of #Egypt ”

Do You remember that documentary “Jews of Egypt” ??
This ambitious interesting documentary was going to be the second Egyptian documentary to be screened commercially in Egyptian selected cinemas. Its official release was supposed to be tonight but just as we are waiting for its release we found out that it was banned.

  Yes it was banned from screening in Egypt officially despite it was approved by the Censorship bureau following the ministry of Culture. The film was banned by the Homeland Security previously known as State security.
The documentary film maker Amir Ramsis spoke about the matter on his Facebook page.

Ramsis' FB Page

The film’s producer Haitham Khamis also showed the approvals of the Censorship bureau on his Facebook page as well.
Here is the documentary’s English trailer. 

“Jews of Egypt” trailer

I think Ramsis should air the documentary on TV channels for free , let the whole world watches it.
By the way ironically at the same time we found out that the Muslim brotherhood got a film production company called “Cinema Al Nahda” and it is going to screen its first production ever “The Report” { a social drama} in the Arts academy !! The Arts academy is owned by the State.

Baha’i in #egypt

January 2013- Despite the new year, Egyptian Minister of Education Ibrahim Deif reiterated his old comments about the (lack of) acceptance of Baha’i children in Egyptian government schools in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper “Al Akhbar al Yowm”.

The newspaper asked:

ما موقف الوزارة من أبناء من يعتنقون الديانة البهائية, و هل لهم الحق في الالتحاق بمدارسها بعد اعتراف الدستور الجديد بالديانات السماوية الثلاث فقط؟
What is the position of the Ministry regarding the children of Baha’is, and do they have the right to register in government schools after the recognition in the new constitution of only the three monotheistic religions (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism)?

The Minister of Education, Ibrahim Deif, replied:

 هناك ديانات ثلاث معترف بها، و لن أعتزف بأي ديانة أجري، والتربية الديانية مادة اساسية و إذا استطاعوا استيفاء شروط الالتحاق بالمدارس فأهلا و سهلا بهم، و من لا يرضي بشروطي فلا مكان له عندي لأن الديانات المعترف بها دستوريا هي الديانات السماوية الثلاث فقط ولم يعترف بسواها
[The monotheistic faiths] are only three recognized religions, and no other faiths are recognized.  Religion is a crucial subject in school, and if [a student] is able to full the conditions of enrollment in government schools, then they are welcome. However, there is no place for anyone who does not accept these conditions because the only constitutionally recognized religions are the monotheistic faiths, and no others.

If readers find the tautologically confusing and meaningless response of the Minister of Education frustrating, then so do many others. Professor Basma Moussa, a Baha’i activist in Egypt, has a response of her own to the Egyptian Minister:

I have a question for the Minister. What are these conditions that are required for a Baha’i child to enroll in a public school, a school that we all used to attend without conditions, a school from which we succeeded and went on to hold prominent positions that serve our dear country, Egypt?  According to the new constitution itself, education is the right of every child, so please tell us, what are your conditions for an education so that Baha’i parents can figure out how to enroll their children in Egyptian schools, school that are built from the taxes that are taken from us, like they are taken from all Egyptians without discrimination. Please respond, thank you.

The Minister of Education’s remarks are an echo of his comments to another newspaper on November 30th, where he claimed “State law in accordance with government procedures only recognizes three religions, and the Baha’i faith is not among them. Thus their children do not have the right to register in government schools.” His new comments add unidentified “conditions” to the enrollment of Baha’i children in school, which is in fact more dangerous than closing the door entirely.

By claiming that there is a vague method for inclusion, the Egyptian government has the ability to discriminate against Baha’i children and the entire Baha’i community while claiming that there is nothing inherently discriminatory about their laws. Just like the new constitution affirms that “Freedom of belief is an inviolable right” while denying the legitimacy of any faith other than Islam, Christianity, or Judaism, the Minister of Education’s comments pave the way for a discriminatory policy against Baha’is that is given constitutional legitimacy.

#مصر كلنا ليلى : أول الليلات الجامعيات

كلنا ليلى : أول الليلات الجامعيات

هذه الصورة النادرة التى وجدت فى مجلة الاثنين و العالم الصادرة فى يوم 13 مارس 1945 هى صورة لخمس طلابات من اول 17 طالبة تتحلق بالجامعة فؤاد فى1929

اول طالبات فى الجامعة المصرية

و هنا مقالة لدكتورة نعيمة الايوبى فى نفس العدد تحت عنوان “كنت أول فتاة تدخل الجامعة

كنت اول فتاة تدخل الجامعة

”

من المؤسف ان لا نتذكر دور تلك النساء و لا نتذكر اسمائهن ما عدا الدكتورة سهير القلماوى

عالفكرة قبل ان تلتحق تلك الفتيات بالجامعة كانت هناك محاضرات باللغة الفرنسية مخصصة لنساء الطبقة الثرية فى اطار ضيق فى مصر فى ذلك الوقت و كانتا الرائدتان لبيبة هاشم و ملك حفنى ناصف تترجمان تلك المحاضرات الى العربية لنشرها فى الصحف المصرية فى ذلك الوقت

The uprising of women in the Arab world انتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي

This campaign certainly deserves our support. Islam will not become a safe religion for anyone until Muslim women are free to live their own lives, and here are some women who are determined to fight for their freedom. The Logo of the campaign (the woman’s hair is a map of the Arab world.)

Inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings, four Arab women have launched a campaign titled “The Uprising of Women in the Arab World,” aimed at gaining “freedom, independence and security” for Arab women. The campaign promotes gender equality in accordance with the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and calls to grant women freedom in the domains of expression, thought, schooling, employment, and the freedom to dress as they please, as well as political rights. The campaign’s Facebook page[1] features the full text of the Human Rights Declaration in Arabic, and there is also an official Twitter account.[2

 [Amongst those supporting the uprising is]
‘Alia Magda Al-Madhi from Egypt, who published nude photos of herself during the revolution in protest of oppression and attacks on freedom of expression: “I support The Uprising of Women in the Arab World because I was threatened with rape, incarceration, and murder. I was abducted, abused, and almost raped for posting an artful nude picture of myself and discussing women’s rights on my blog; for having sex with my lover; and for leaving my parents

I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because I want to the society to see me first and foremost as a woman, before seeing me as a mother, a wife, a daughter"
Beirut, Lebanon - Zico House building, Sanayeh
March 8, 2013

ثماني مدن يقلن نعم لانتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي
The Uprising of Women in the Arab World invades 8 Arab cities on March 8
(english below)

اليوم، الثامن من آذار/مارس 2013، تستيقظ كلّ من صنعاء وبيروت والقاهرة وتونس العاصمة وبنغازي وطنجة ورام الله وعمّان على صور نساء تغطي مبانٍ وتخاطب كل من تنظر/ينظر في عيونهن من المارّة. ستعلو صور النساء على مبنى وزارة الشباب والرياضة ومبنى مركزي بشارع السّتين في صنعاء باليمن، فندق السان جورج ومبنى زيكو هاوس في بيروت بلبنان، مبنى مكتبة مدبولي بميدان طلعت حرب في القاهرة بمصر، شارع 7 نوفمبر الطريق إكس باتجاه المطار في تونس العاصمة، مبنى وزارة التربية والتعليم في بنغازي بليبيا، مبنى الخزانة السينمائية بطنجة بالمغرب، ميدان المنارة في رام الله بفلسطين ومبنى في جبل الحسين بالقرب من دوّار الداخلية في عمّان بالأردن. ترتفع صور هذي النساء اليوم الجمعة، ليقلن بأن المرأة ليست عورة، ليقلن لا للتحرّش الجنسي ولا لكشوف العذريّة، ليصرخن بأنه من حق المرأة أن تمنح جنسيتها لزوجها وأبنائها كما الرجل، ليؤكدن بأنّهن كما شاركن في الثورات سيشاركن في بناء دولهنّ، ليستنهضن النساء والرجال للعمل سويّا من أجل نساء ينعمن بالحرية، الاستقلالية والأمان، ليقلن نعم لانتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي. هذه اللافتات الضخمة هي مبادرة جديدة أطلقتها حركة "انتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي" بمناسبة اليوم العالمي للمرأة. قامت بهذا النشاط مجموعة متطوّعة من ناشطات وناشطين مستقلين، بالتعاون مع مؤسسات ومبادرات منها "المرأة قضية وطن"-الأردن و"فلسطينيات" - فلسطين و"المرأة الجديدة" – مصر، بدعم من الفدرالية الدولية لحقوق الإنسان بالإضافة إلى أصحاب المباني المشاركة والخزانة السينمائية بطنجة. هذه الصور التي يتم تعليقها في الشارع العربي وفي يوم واحد هي رسالتنا لنندد بالظلم الذي تواجهه النساء في منطقتنا، لنحتفل بالنساء المنتفضات اللواتي يطالبن بحقوقهن ويدافعن عن حرياتهن، ولنؤكد على أن الثورات قامت من أجل الكرامة والعدالة والحرية، والمطالب الثلاثة هذه لا يمكن تحققها بتغييب المرأة عن المشهد العام.

Today, Friday March 8, 2013, the cities of Sanaa, Beirut, Cairo, Tunis, Benghazi, Tanger, Ramallah and Amman will woke up to pictures of women covering buildings and addressing each passer intersecting their gaze.
The women's pictures will be seen on:
- St Georges hotel as well as Zico House in Beirut, Lebanon;
- the Youth and Sports Ministry as well as a central building on the 60th Street in Sanaa, Yemen;
- Madboli Bookshop Building on Talaat Harb square in Cairo, Egypt;
- the Cinematheque of Tanger in Tanger, Morocco;
- the 7th of November Avenue, Route X, Airport, in Tunis, Tunisia;
- the Education Ministry in Benghazi, Libya;
- Manara Square in Ramallah, Palestine
- and Jabal al Hussein near Interior Affairs Ministry Circle in Amman, Jordan.
The photos raised on Friday March 8 will be stating that women are no shame. It will be saying no to sexual harassment, and no virginity tests. It will be crying out for women's right to give their nationality to their spouse and children. It will be reaffirming that women will participate in building their country, just like they have participated in the revolutions. It will be calling for women and men to work together for freedom, independence and safety of women. It will be saying a big YES to the uprising of women in the Arab world.
These huge banners are a new initiative launched by The Uprising of Women in the Arab World movement on International Women's Day. They are a joint action led by independent activists and organizations across the Arab world namely, "Almara' Kadiyyat Watan"-Jordan, "Filastiniyat"-Palestine, "New Woman Foundation"-Egypt, with the support of the International Federation of Human Rights in addition to the owners of the hosting buildings and the Cinematheque of Tangier-Morocco. These photos that will be raised on the same day in 8 cities around the Arab world are a message to denounce the injustice facing women in our region, to celebrate uprising women who are demanding their rights and defending their freedoms, and to emphasize that the Arab revolutions that were led in the name of dignity, justice and freedom, can not achieve their goals if women are being ignored or absented from the main scenery

على مبنى زيكو هاوس في بيروت: "أنا مع انتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي لأني أريد أن يراني المجتمع كامرأة أولاً قبل أن يراني كأم، زوجة، ابنة"

"I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because I want to the society to see me first and foremost as a woman, before seeing me as a mother, a wife, a daughter"

 

هذه اللافتات الضخمة هي مبادرة جديدة أطلقتها حركة "انتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي" بمناسبة اليوم العالمي للمرأة. قامت بهذا النشاط مجموعة متطوّعة من ناشطات وناشطين مستقلين، بالتعاون مع مؤسسات ومبادرات منها "المرأة قضية وطن"-الأردن و"فلسطينيات" - فلسطين و"المرأة الجديدة" – مصر، بدعم من الفدرالية الدولية لحقوق الإنسان بالإضافة إلى أصحاب المباني المشاركة والخزانة السينمائية بطنجة. هذه الصور التي يتم تعليقها في الشارع العربي وفي يوم واحد هي رسالتنا لنندد بالظلم الذي تواجهه النساء في منطقتنا، لنحتفل بالنساء المنتفضات اللواتي يطالبن بحقوقهن ويدافعن عن حرياتهن، ولنؤكد على أن الثورات قامت من أجل الكرامة 

 والعدالة والحرية، والمطالب الثلاثة هذه لا يمكن تحققها بتغييب المرأة عن المشهد العام.

صورة ست البنات سميرة ابراهيم تعلو مبنى مكتبة مدبولي بميدان طلعت حرب في القاهرة بمصر.
المرأة رحم الثورات!

"I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because she is the womb of revolutions"
Cairo, Egypt - Madboli Bookshop Building on Talaat Harb square

استيقظت تونس العاصمة اليوم في شارع 7 نوفمبر الطريق إكس باتجاه المطار على هذه الصورة وهي تخاطب كل من تنظر/ينظر في عيونها من المارّة.

"I am with the uprising of women because I am the revolution, I am not a shame"
Tunis, Tunisia - 7th of November Avenue, Route X, Airport
March 8, 2013

أما عمّان فقد استيقظت على هذه الصورة تعلو مبنى في جبل الحسين بالقرب من دوّار الداخلية في عاصمة الأردن.

"I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because I am Jordanian and my nationally is a right for my children"
Amman, Jordan - Jabal al Hussein near Interior Affairs Ministry Circle
March 8, 2013

صورة ضخمة تعلو ميدان المنارة في رام الله بفلسطين: أنا مع انتفاضة المرأة العربية لاني فلسطينية ناضلت وأناضل وسأناضل حتى تحقيق الحرية والمساواة

"I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because I have struggled, I am struggling and I will struggle to achieve freedom and equality"
Ramallah, Palestine - Manara Square
March 8, 2013

 

 صورة تعلو مبنى وزارة التربية والتعليم قيد الانشاء في بنغازي بليبيا.

"We are with the uprising of women in the Arab world
Just like we were part of the revolution, we will be part of building the State"
Benghazi, Libya - building under construction of the Ministry of Education

صورة تعلو مبنى السان جورج في بيروت تقول: "أنا مع انتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي لأنو ما في اي سبب يمنعني كامرأة لبنانية من اني أعطي الجنسية لأولادي"

"I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to give my nationality to my children"
Beirut, Lebanon - St Georges Hotel, Ain El Mraisse
March 8, 2013

صورة على مبنى مركزي في شارع السّتين في صنعاء باليمن

"I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because I will not hesitate in demanding my rights"
Sanaa, Yemen
March 8, 2013

 

على مبنى السينما في طنجة، تقول مروة: "أنا مع انتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي لأني لن أصمت أمام التحرش الجنسي الذي اتعرض له يومياً في الشارع"

"I am with the uprising of women in the Arab world because I won''t stay silent facing the sexual harassment that I endure every day in the streets"
Tanger, Morocco - Cinémathèque of Tanger
March 8, 2013

"أنا مع إنتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي لأنني حكمت اليمن وما زلت أمتلك القدرة والحكمة"
صنعاء، اليمن

   

Protest Torture & Zero Dark Thirty

 

  "Zero never acknowledges that torture is immoral and criminal. It does portray torture as getting results."

• Click here to download flyer to take to your local movie theater in protest. 

 

 

• Click here for series of posters of Guantanamo prisoners cleared for release yet still unjustly held.

Here are some of the articles and opinion pieces outlining why people of conscience must take a stand against the justification and use of torture:

Michael Moore’s Repellent Defense of “Zero Dark Thirty
by Dave Clennon

Instead of being indicted, these torturers are presented as heroes, as brave and dedicated “detectives.”  No one gives Maya or Dan the kind of scolding, which you envision Obama giving, off-screen.  Chastain’s Maya, is presented as especially admirable, a feminist action hero.  She not only gets her man; she also muscles CIA male chauvinists out of the way, as she pushes ahead on “The Greatest Manhunt in History.”  And we’re supposed to empathize and cheer her on.

On Zero Dark Thirty
by James Spione

That a movie which at its core is essentially a revenge flick—evil guy kills innocents, heroine stops at nothing to kill evil guy—is even being compared to journalism by its makers or anyone else says more about the sorry state of journalism today than it does about the film.

The Zero Dark Thirty Controversy
by Ramzi Kassem

"The controversy surrounding Zero Dark Thirty has been as misguided as the film itself, which opened nationwide on Friday. Much of the debate has centered on whether The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow's latest opus leaves viewers with the false impression that torture led to the killing of Usama bin Laden. That both the means employed and the ends achieved in that equation are illegal and repugnant seems all but forgotten. Both torture and extrajudicial executions are anathema to civilized society, irrespective of their possible efficacy or expediency. More importantly, both the film and the controversy it has ignited treat torture at secret CIA prisons as though it were a thing of the past, masking the reality of an enduring practice."

Zero Dark Thirty and Truthiness
by Dennis Loo

"Bigelow, Boal, and Sony thus have portrayed the criticism of their film as censorship and wrapped themselves in the flag of free expression. But the opposition their film has sparked is not about censorship at all and their characterizing their critics as censorious is dishonest. People who oppose torture want torture to be shown to the American people. The fine 2007 film Rendition, for example, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, and Reese Witherspoon, showed torture and was appreciated by those of us who admire well-made films and oppose torture’s immorality and illegality."

Colbert Takes On 'Zero Dark Thirty' Torture Controversy (VIDEO)

And the Academy Award for the Promotion of Torture Goes to…
by David Clennon

"Those who are protesting the easy tolerance of torture in Zero Dark Thirty have been dismissed by some commentators as having a political agenda. The problem of torture is not political. It's moral. And it's criminal.
I'm a member of Hollywood's Motion Picture Academy. At the risk of being expelled for disclosing my intentions, I will not be voting for Zero Dark Thirty - in any Academy Awards category."

Zero Dark Thirty: Turning the Spotlight on US Use of Torture
by Ralph E. Stone

"Extraordinary renditions apparently continue to this day.  These are secret abductions and transfers of prisoners to other countries where torture is used. Torture is torture whether it is done by Americans at Guantánamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Afghanistan, or by proxy through our rendition program."

Martin Sheen, Ed Asner Join 'Zero Dark Thirty' Protest

Above, protesting at the opening of Zero Dark Thirty in NYC December 19, 2013

Dark, Zero-Feminism
by Zillah Eisenstein

"...the real problem with ZDT is that it lets the audience and the American public think that terrible things are allowable because they are doable.   A courageous telling of the U.S. anti-terror narrative would demand critique and defiance."

A letter to Kathryn Bigelow on Zero Dark Thirty's apology for torture
by Naomi Wolf

"By peddling the lie that CIA detentions led to Bin Laden's killing, you have become a Leni Riefenstahl-like propagandist of torture"

a critical choiceby Curt Wechsler

"The public "controversy" whipped up by release of the new torture movie Zero Dark Thirty is actually a re-hash of an argument that had largely been put to bed, that torture works to extract reliable intelligence from suspected terrorists (and even if it did, would that make the practice morally acceptable?) But torture IS effective in getting subjects to say what you want them to say, to fabricate rationale for government venture, such as the ultimate war crime of aggression on sovereign nations that pose no imminent threat."

Listen to Debra Sweet discuss the film on Flashpoints, KPFA (at 42:00 into the show).

Zero Dark Thirty: the Veneration of Torture and the C.I.A.
by Glenn Greenwald

Zero Conscience in “Zero Dark Thirty”
by Jane Mayer

Zero Dark Thirty: Torturing the Facts
by Marjorie Cohn

Torture is Wrongby Debra Sweet

Torture, Torture Everywhere
by Andy Worthington

Zero Dark Thirty's Wrong and Dangerous Conclusion
by Alex Gibney

Who will join me in protesting CIA's view of the world?by Debra Sweet

Ending U.S.-Sponsored Torture Forever from NRCAT on Vimeo.

#egypt Danger in the Streets

Danger in the Streets

Egyptian Women Fight Public Sexual Harassment

Lately, women on the streets of Egypt have been under assault -- threatened by looks, by words and by physical attacks. As more Egyptian women claim the freedom and power to enter the public sphere, they are being confronted with a growing wave of public sexual harassment.

AP Photo/Ben Curtis

Protestors demonstrate against sexual attacks on women and the government's failure to investigate them, in downtown Cairo, Egypt on Thursday, November 9, 2006 

The Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights

The Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights' Campaign Poster reads: "Safety for everybody. When you catcall...what do you gain?

This trend gained a sudden worldwide audience in 2006, when amateur videos captured crowds of men surrounding and groping women during a religious festival. These videos were shared on the internet for the world to witness.

Targets are not confined to a specific group. Women of every age and class are targets of obscene behavior, even those who dress modestly in veils.

Experts put forth many explanations -- the explosion of easily available sexual material, lack of education about sex and sexuality and Egypt's economy. Due to the high cost of living, couples are forced to wait to marry until later in life, leading, some say, to rising sexual frustration in a portion of the male population.

Whatever the cause, women are afraid to report the harassment to police, worried that they will be ignored, or worse, blamed for their attacks.

The Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights has declared this "a social cancer." Their campaign against public sexual harassment is fighting to enforce existing laws protecting women, create new legislation, and break the silence around this taboo subject.

I.M.O.W. spoke to Engy Ghozlan, Project Coordinator for the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights.

How did you become involved in the campaign against sexual harassment?

You hear comments on the street like: "You belong to the house." "You shouldn't be on the street." It took me years to recognize that the depression I was having whenever I walked on the street was because I was not acting, I was just silent.

For me, it was an issue that I'm not going to be a victim of any sexual violence against me anymore. I felt that it's the time to move from being a victim to being one who helps others and helps herself to actually survive everyday on the street. I might not be able to stop it by myself but at least talking about it actually gave me the power to feel that I don't have to feel sad anymore, I know that I am doing something, and this is enough for me until I reach the day I can see legislation that can protect me and other girls on the street.

Does the sexual harassment occur in a variety of settings? It's on the street -- but is it also in homes and schools?

Yes, it happens in houses, it happens in schools and universities, it happens, of course, in the workplace. Girls who have to work in shops or restaurants, the owners use them sexually. They are sure that she can't leave, and she can't go and tell anyone because it is her reputation that she'll be hurting.

Girls sometimes face sexual harassment on the street. If they stopped and told the guy, "Don't do this!" or "You're attacking me!"--sometimes people on the street don't support a girl-- they actually blame her.

In Egypt, if a girl goes to a police station, people start gossiping about her. So girls can't go to the police, girls can't talk about it. Our first idea was to break the silence and let girls start talking.

Is it hard to do this in a culture where there's not a lot of conversation about sexuality in general?

At the time the campaign started, talking about sexual harassment or anything with a sexual nature was a taboo. There was this denial from girls, they said they didn't experience it, but when you talked to them a little bit away from sexual words, they started writing, and what they wrote was horrible.

We were really happy that, finally, people were talking about something that related to their sexuality or to their bodies. We found lots of girls who were blaming themselves for the issue. The girls thought that the reason they were getting harassed was because of their bodies and because their bodies were beautiful, whether they wore a veil or covered their faces or not.

Part of your campaign is to target both sides; you try to raise awareness among young men as well as women. Have you seen changes in the men you've worked with?

When you ask the question "Why do you sexually harass?" you get a very stupid answer from guys. They have this idea that girls like to be sexually harassed, at least verbally, because it gives them the impression that they are nice, they are beautiful, and guys think this is something that girls actually like.

But now, some of them say: "I think of my sister, I think of my mom. What if my mom was walking on the street and someone touched her? I would feel hurt, I would feel scared for her. I would feel I wanted to protect her. And maybe, thinking the other way, if I imagine that any woman on the street could be someone in my family, that would actually make me change."

For people who practice something like this for many years, just raising awareness is not enough to change their behavior. You need to change the circumstances around that behavior. The circumstance that is in our hands is to change legislation.

The economic situation that would allow men to get married sooner and actually start a life, to allow guys to find jobs and find themselves and have potential is not something that I can guarantee in the short term. What I can say is that if we had legislation along with a change in the economic and social situation, maybe one day soon we will see a change in the behavior.

العنف ضد المراة العربية الى اين !! Violence against women in the Arab world

مشهد يتكرر في أغلب بيوت مصر , البنت أبوها مدير ادارة حياتها و أخوها نائب المدير , لحد ما يطلع معاش و ييجي جوزها كمدير جديد , و لو اتطلقت يرجع أبوها تاني و لو جوزها مات و ابنها كبر , يبقي كدة اتطمننا ان فيه ادارة جديده برضه. لو كبر ابنك خاويه , لكن بنتك لأ.

سائق الميكروباص : مكنش ينفع غير الدوله الدينيه
انا : اشمعنا ؟؟
السائق : حتطبق الشريعه بجد
انا : يعني ايه تطبق الشريعه ؟؟
السائق : اديك مثل بسيط , نعمل اتوبيسات للرجاله و اتبوسيات للستات و نخلي الست تتفرغ لبيتها و عيلها
انا : طب انت شايف ان مشاكل مصر كلها واقفه علي ان الستات تبقي في اتوبيس و الرجاله في اتوبيس
السائق : ده مثل بسيط .. انت عارف العيل اللي بتعاكس , حتتربي و مش حتشوف بت مع واد تاني في الشارع
انا : و انت ايه اللي مضايقك لما يكون في بنت مع ولد في الشارع
السائق : نعم !!!! انت ترضي اختك تمشي مع ولد
انا : يعني مش فاهم ايه المشكله مع زميلها .. خطيبها , ابن عمها , و يمكن يكون الولد ده , انا اخوها
السائق : يعني ايه بنتي او اختي تمشي مع ولد و تتمرقع في الشارع
انا : يعني افرض بنتك عندها زميل ليها او حد معجب بشخصيتها و صديقها
السائق : ده انا اديها بالجزمه و اكسر لها رقبتها !!
انا : طب ما انت حتمنعها .. حتعمل كده من وراك
السائق : ما هي لو عملت كده وحياه امها ما حخرجها من البيت !! , طرطور انا ؟؟
انا : معلش بس انت ازاي تسمح لنفسك , انك تضرب بنتك ؟؟ هي مش انسان ناضج تقدر تحدد مصيرها ؟؟
السائق : ناضج ايه يا كابتن ؟؟ البنت ديه تبعي لغايه ما تتنيل تروح بيت جوزها و لو جوزها طرطور دي مش قصتي
انا : طب عدم الامؤخذه , الطرطور ده يعرفها ازاي ؟؟ قصدي مين حيجي يخطبها ؟؟ لو ميعرفهاش ؟؟
السائق : ما انا خلاص اخترت لها
انا : هايل , و يا تري لو عندك ابن ؟؟ حتختار له برضه ؟؟
السائق : بص انا حشوف اختياره لو عجابني تمام , لو معجبنيش حقوله لا ..
انا : يعني حتعقد معاه تقنعه ؟؟
السائق : اه , طبعا لو كبر ابنك خاويه ...
انا : طب و لو كبرت بنتك ؟؟؟؟؟
السائق : بس يا استاذ .. انت بتلف و تدور علي نقطه .. من الاخر عشان اريحيك .. البنات لازم تتربي مش تلبس لي ملزق و ضيق و تروح تصاحب ولاد و تقولي هي حريه .. لا مش حره
انا : ما حضرتك لو مربيها صح , هي من الاساس مش حتعمل حاجه غلط ....
( مش حكمل عشان هنا الحوار خد طريق تاني و الحمد الله اني وصلت بيتي سليم ) .......................
, , , ,
انا مش عارف ليه في ثقافه سايده ان الاب او الاخ يمتلك بنته او اخته !؟!؟؟! ليه مش قادرين يقتنعوا انها انسان كامل زي الولد بالظبط ؟؟ و ليه متخيلين ان الكبت و الحبس هما الحل ؟؟؟ ميعرفوش ان الممنوع مرغوب .. يعني احبس و افصل و امنع و ابعد .. برضه لو في مشكله حتفضل موجوده .. اما لو اتكلم و ناقشت و تواصلت ... المشكله مش حتبقي موجوده , عشان خلاص طلعت للنور ... و اللي متعود علي الضلمه حيعيش طول عمره يخبي و يخفي في الضلمه , بس اللي متربي علي النور , بيبقي انسان حر , ناضج , عارف مصلحته ... مش بيخاف من حد عشان عارف انه في السليم ... فلتسقط سياسه الترهيب و تبدأ سياسه الاقناع و التوعيه !