Some day in the future decades someone
will ask about how our women celebrated the international women’s day
post the revolution. The first anniversary will be remembered with dismay
& great frustration but the second will be remembered with pride &
hope despite the bitter taste of military rule. The march organized on
the occasion started from the journalists syndicate & headed to the
people’s assembly passing through Tahrir in a show of solidarity &
staunch determination to champion the struggle of Egyptian women for fairness
& liberation. The chants and the crowd vibes were exhilarating and
the demands very clear. The focus was on two things 1. Full representation
of women in the constitution-drafting committee by at least 50% 2. No tempering
with the legal gains of the past decade as regards personal status laws
and non-discrimination in state dealings. The Egyptian Women Union was
strongly present at the march with its banners reminding the Egyptian nation
and its rulers that all the gains secured under the past regime were the
result of the pressure and persistence of feminist activists, lawyers,
writers, and human rights activists, and pro-women NGOs and social enterprises
and were not simply and unduly granted by Susanne Mubarak.
The march was inspirational in many respects. There were many men participating and even leading the chants. There were at least 3 generations present, from those aged 60 and above to those aged 25 and below and the age groups in between. The chants were very enthusiastic and clever and so were the banners. They were one with the true spirit of the revolution and the national dream of a new progressive developed Egypt.
The nicest thing about the preparations of the event is that the women organizations were only too aware of their individual vulnerability and their inability to rally great numbers if they work as separate islands. So they had to get together despite their ideological & practical differences to organize around a common goal and avoid the debacle of the 2011 celebration. A formal statement was delivered to parliament on behalf of all the groups & in other words on behalf of the Egyptian Women National Movement declaring that its voice is not represented in parliament, stipulating its adamant endorsement of women’s legal & social rights & entitlements, and its resolve to continue to build on those rights for the sake of better women empowerment & liberation.
The march was inspirational in many respects. There were many men participating and even leading the chants. There were at least 3 generations present, from those aged 60 and above to those aged 25 and below and the age groups in between. The chants were very enthusiastic and clever and so were the banners. They were one with the true spirit of the revolution and the national dream of a new progressive developed Egypt.
The nicest thing about the preparations of the event is that the women organizations were only too aware of their individual vulnerability and their inability to rally great numbers if they work as separate islands. So they had to get together despite their ideological & practical differences to organize around a common goal and avoid the debacle of the 2011 celebration. A formal statement was delivered to parliament on behalf of all the groups & in other words on behalf of the Egyptian Women National Movement declaring that its voice is not represented in parliament, stipulating its adamant endorsement of women’s legal & social rights & entitlements, and its resolve to continue to build on those rights for the sake of better women empowerment & liberation.
