Kevin Rudd, Muslim women now at forefront
Egypt's revolution was diverse in many ways, not least because it was a movement of women as much as of men. Of the hundreds of thousands in Tahrir Square for those momentous 18 days, many were women...Hey, Big Kev, why didn't you mention the plight of Lara Logan during Egypt's revolution? She's an eminently thirsting-for-fair-play-and-freedom kinda gal ...
Some people will dispute this. They will tell you Arabs and Muslims do not share our values. They will wrongly say Arab feminism is an oxymoron.
I see the world differently. I see a world where shared values dominate our lived experience globally. A world where our common denominators include falling in love, raising a family, thirsting for an education, pursuing fair work for fair pay, and resolutely yearning for freedom.
These values know no borders.
But maybe you see this event "differently".
As for Egypt's path to freedom, Andrew Bolt has some pictures to show to real trend:
Cairo Uni 2004
So what is the future for Egypt's liberalisation? Will it be suppressed quickly like Iran, or slowly like Turkey? Let's be optimistic and assume like Turkey. But even Turkey's secular women seem increasingly worried about fundamentalist Erdogan re-Islamizing everything. I think this picture tells it:
But I guess you see it differently, hey Kev? Let's call her an oxymoron-a-phobe shall we?
OK, Big Kev, here's your last chance. We'll show you Lara Logan moments before she was sexually assaulted and ask if you really see what's going on in this picture? Take a long hard look. I know it's tricky, but just slow down and look ...
That's right, Big Kev, there are no women stopping these men.
File under: some values really do "know no borders".
Typical Kevin Rudd, seeing only what he wants to see ...
ReplyDeletehttp://ozziesaffa.blogspot.com/2011/03/yesterday-was-international-womens-day.html
CAIRO (AP) -- A protest by hundreds of Egyptian women demanding equal rights and an end to sexual harassment turned violent Tuesday when crowds of men heckled and shoved the demonstrators, telling them to go home where they belong.
The women - some in headscarves and flowing robes, others in jeans - had marched to Cairo's central Tahrir Square to celebrate International Women's Day. But crowds of men soon outnumbered them and chased them out.
"They said that our role was to stay home and raise presidents, not to run for president," said Farida Helmy, a 24-year old journalist.
Sexual harassment remains widespread in Egypt, where women often are afraid to report sexual assault or harassment for fear they and their families will be stigmatized. A 2008 survey by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights found that 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women in Cairo said they had been harassed - while 62 percent of men admitted to harassing.