Egyptian teacher Demiana Abdelnour is the new victim of blasphemy case

By: Alexandra Kinias —

Defamation of religion is a phenomenon that is practiced in societies where religious extremism is rooted. In such societies, zealots condemn, prosecute and kill those who speak out against their faith, while giving themselves the license to do and say the exact same against other religions.

With the rise of Islamists to power, Egypt is aggressively following in the footsteps of countries that have been labeled amongst the worse in human rights, freedom of expression and religion. The detention of 24-years old Coptic school teacher Demiana Abdelnour on May 8^th is another reminder to where the country is heading. Abdelnour was arrested following complaints by the parents of three of her students at the primary school where she taught. The parents claimed that the social sciences teacher insulted religion and the Prophet Muhammad by saying that the late Pope Shenouda III performed more miracles than the Prophet. They also alleged that she placed her hand on her stomach to convey nausea when mentioning the Prophet. The accusations were entirely based on the testimony of the three students, all under the age of ten. Abdelnour denied all such allegations. And according to the school administration and the confessions of ten other students there was no truth to any of those allegations. [1]

The incident of Abdelnour is just another in the long strand of events that target the Coptic minorities and affirms that the religious intolerance is steadily increasing. It is only predictable that this phenomenon that has started growing roots in the society will eventually become a trait in the absence of the supervision of civil institutions. The ruling party is keeping closed eyes on the exploitation of the Copts, to threaten and control them. What more can prove that they are being targeted by the government than seeing the police forces standing aside while the Pope’s headquarters was  attacked by angry rioters? This incident was the first attack on the seat of Christianity in Egypt in more than 1,400 years. [2]

Amnesty International has called for the release of Abdelnour. “On numerous occasions, Amnesty International has called on the Egyptian authorities not to prosecute individuals based on blasphemy laws, which criminalize criticism of or insult religious beliefs,” read a statement issued by the international organization. [3]

Unfortunately, there is a discrimination factor in cases of defaming religion because the majority of people accused are Coptic Christians, Bahá’ís or atheists and as labeled by Abdelnour’s lawyer; it is a one way street cases. [4]

Meanwhile Abdelnour was being held in custody based on testimonies of three 10-years old school children, the owner of the evangelical Islamic channel, Al-Omma TV, Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah, known as Abu Islam, and his son Islam, were also accused for the chargers of “insulting the Christian faith”. Abu Islam and his son tore up and set on fire a copy of the Bible during protests outside the U.S. embassy in Cairo against a US-made film mocking the Prophet Mohammed. None-the-less, neither were arrested, released on bail, but convicted. The reason for his arrest might have been for the international media to affirm that the government doesn’t tolerate blasphemy from either side. But he was immediately released on bail and back to his show with intense aggression against the the Christians and the church.[5] [6]

His television show is the media where the notorious Abu Islam, (father of Islam) spreads his venom. He openly refers to Christens as infidels, feverishly insults the church, Jesus and Mary. His blasphemy is available on youtube for the world to watch. [7] [8] [9] In the spam of years, he was questioned a couple of times by the authorities only to return back with more aggression, disrespect and profanity against the Copts and Christianity. Abu Islam is still on  TV squirting his venom to his viewers and fueling the sectarian tension. [10]

The madness in his eyes and malignancy of his soul, the aggression in his voice and the hatred and intolerance in his words are alarming. But he is not alone. There are tens of Sheikhs like Abu Islam all over the television screens. The business is thriving.

With the high level of illiteracy in Egypt, the hegemony of the unqualified religious Sheikhs is causing the already decaying society to collapse. They preach intolerance through their malicious dialogue in mosques, schools, television, and anywhere they have an audience. They spread racism, fear, abuse, violence and ignorance. Their words are falling on suppressed psychologies where they give them false feelings of power and a delusion of supremacy as being God’s chosen.

It is quite an intriguing psychological relationship between these predators and their victims.  Religion is becoming a lucrative business. And the louder and more obnoxious these preachers are, the bigger contracts they get. The malignant control over the masses give them wealth, power and prestige. They manipulate their victims and control them like puppets. Suppressed in their own societies and feeling inferior, the Sheikhs throw them baits that give them a sense of superiority in an illusionary realm. They are promised a better life and are brainwashed to believe that following the rigorous doctrine of Islam would automatically transcend them into the vicinity of the powerful. It is not merely the fear of the other or the insecurities to defend their faith that create these chaotic behaviors. These dialogues also resonate more with the suppressed and abused who find in violence and abuse of the other a relief to their own maladies.

Abdel Nour will not be the last case of blasphemy Egypt will witness in the near future. And with no action taken to punish these Sheikhs or reform their dialogue, we should bid adieu to the country that was once a safe haven to all religions. A country that may leave its mark in the  twenty first century by reverting back to medieval times.  

* After going on a hunger strike, Abdel Nour was released on L.E. 20,000 bail. This amount is twenty times higher than what others have paid for similar chargers, except for Abu Islam’s. “This bail price is completely arbitrary. When you are forced to pay this much money it is not procedure, it is punishment.” Her lawyer said. [11]

References:

1. 4. Daily News : Coptic teacher remains in prison

2. Coptic Pope speaks out on Muslim Brotherhood

3. Amnesty International: Egypt releases teacher accused of blasphemy

5. Abu Islam burns Bible : youtube video with subtitles

6. Al Arabiya News: Detained Egyptian sheikh who said it is ‘halal’ to rape female protesters.

[7] Abu Islam Insults the Christians and the Church after his release. – youtube

[8] Abu Islam insults Jesus - youtube

[9] Abu Islam insults Mary – you tube

10. Egypt Independent: Abu Islam released on L.E. 20,000 bail, Feb 2013

11. Coptic teacher released on 20,000 bail

Prayer leader; pedophile and murderer

Basmala raped and killed by the Imam of her neighborhood mosque.

By: Alexandra Kinias –

While Egypt was celebrating Sham El Nassim, the national day the follows Easter Sunday, the family of Basmala was mourning their daughter’s death. The 8-years old had gone missing a couple of days earlier. She had gone to buy laundry detergent for her mother, but never came back. After an extensive search by the police and the neighbors, her body was found in a garbage dump close to where she lived. Even though a similar incident took place a couple of years earlier when another young girl went missing, no one had imagined that a pedophile lives in the neighborhood.

Sheikh Mustafa, the 62 years old pious restaurant owner who often leads the people in prayers didn’t spare time or effort to assist the police in their search. And when the body was found he attended the funeral. Surveillance of the garbage dump where the girl’s body was found led investigators to the murderer. Within few days after her body was found, they arrested a man who was disposing a bag that contained the girl’s clothes. To everyone’s surprise the murderer was no one else but the pious Sheikh. Police raided his restaurant and found the box of laundry detergent that the mother had sent the girl out to buy.

Sheikh Mustafa after his arrest

As the police interrogated Sheikh Mustafa, he confessed to the crime. In his confessions he said that he lured the girl to his restaurant, raped her, strangled her with her pants and stole her gold earrings. He left the body in his restaurant all night. At dawn he went to the mosque, led the morning prayers, returned back to the restaurant, loaded her body in a burlap sack and dumped it in the garbage.

Repeat: The convict confessed that he raped the girl, strangled her with her pants, stole her earrings, went out to pray and returned back to dispose her body!!!!

Reference: Al Youm 7 Newspaper

Are we forgetting how to be humans?

From left to right: Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight

by: Alexandra Kinias —

Three women who were abducted almost ten years ago in Cleveland, Ohio were finally reunited with their families after being able to escape they captivity. Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Georgina DeJesus were kidnapped between 2004 and 2007 by Ariel Castro and were held captive in his home since then. While in captivity, Berry gave birth to Castro’s child, a girl who is now six years old and who was delivered with the help of Knight.

Confined within the walls of Castro’s 1400 sq-ft home, their only contact with the outside world was the television. As time went by Knight and DeJesus accepted their painful reality, according to a law enforcement officer, but Berry was more forceful and determined to set them and her daughter free. Berry staged an escape and with the help of neighbors she was able to free herself and the others who, according to police, they were not constrained, but didn’t run out of the house when the neighbors broke the door down. They were fearful and brainwashed. Inside the house police found ropes and chains. No information is released yet on how they had been treated or how they spend their days in captivity. The women who are all safe and healthy were reunited with their families and Castro is now in custody. He’ll be charged on four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape.

Investigators are questioning the neighbors, the suspect and the victims. They collected evidence from inside the house that would help them to put the story together. The case is clear and many questions will be answered. Psychiatrists will study the abductor’s personality and motives and their findings no doubt will be helpful in solving similar future cases. However, the question that will remain unanswered is how Castro was able to hide this side of his life from everyone around him for ten years?

Castro lived in an urban neighborhood. He worked as a school bus driver. His neighbors saw him on daily basis; on his way to work, out in his yard, toying with his car or motorcycle, walking with the young girl whom he introduced as his girlfriend’s daughter. He barbecued with his neighbors and listened to music with them. Yet he was able to conceal three women and a child in his home for ten years without raising suspicions.

As the story unveiled, Castro’s neighbors were shocked to hear about the double life he led. They wonder how had they missed all the facts and whether they could have done something to end this horror. Castro left behind some clues that nobody noticed, or cared to notice. Neighbors recall that he always kept people away from the house and brought bags of food more than what a single person could consume. They have seen the young girl whom he introduced as his girlfriend’s daughter. It sounds quite intriguing that no one has questioned the whereabouts of the girlfriend or how the girl was left inside the house by herself when he went to work.

From the photographs of the neighborhood, the houses seem at very close range from each other. I wonder how they never heard the screams of a woman in labor. How they never heard the cries of a born child. I can’t imagine how no one stopped to wonder what was going on, or whether people noticed, but they just carried on with their lives without caring to know since it was not their business. These unanswered questions make me curious to what extent one should mind his /her business or if people are minding their business more than they should. Is watching for suspicious activities considered interfering with the business of others?

Have humans become too absorbed in their own lives, or is it selfishness that drives people nowadays. In the middle of our chaotic everyday life, human relations have condensed into greetings and trivial comments about weather and sports. We are walking the fine line between minding our business, respecting the privacy of others and becoming unconcerned and uninterested in people around us.

If nothing else, this incident raises the concern about the deteriorating human relations. Relations between people are what differentiate us from other creatures. We are the only species that communicate with words, who is compassionate and helpful to those in need, just like the guy who broke down the house door when he heard Berry calling for help. We are social creatures and our everyday relations should become less superficial and more sincere. That’s what made us evolve to who we are and where we are today. If we fail to behave as humans, we will fail our species.

Egyptian Salafi preacher sentenced to jail for slandering an actress

Elham Chahine vs. Abdullah Badr

By: Alexandra Kinias —-

After his appeal was rejected earlier this week, Egyptian police arrested the hard line preacher and television anchor Abdullah Badr on the charges of slandering an actress. He was arrested after he refused to turn himself in, and will be serving one year in jail.

Badr’s story dates back to 2012 when on his show, aired on Al-Hafiz TV, an ultra-conservative Salafi television, he referred to the famous Egyptian actress Elham Chahine as an infidel and a prostitute. He called her “promiscuous, naked and lascivious,” and condemned her movies as a source to women’s immorality and adultery. The appalling accusations were not well received by the masses while were applauded by followers of the hard-core preacher. Badr’s remarks came as a response to Chahine’s criticism of radical Islamists and their rigorous views of the arts and movie industry. Chahine who was insulted and humiliated, according to her lawyer filed a lawsuit against Badr and Al-Hafiz TV.

In her lawsuit Chahine accused Badr and Al-Hafiz CEO, Atef Abdel Rashed, of incitement, spreading chaos and disturbing public security. She also involved Al Azhar University in the lawsuit since Badr claimed he was a graduate of the religious institution and a teaching professor in its University. In its defense, Al-Azhar University issued an official document, denying Badr’s claims. The fake professor never even studied there and has no license to preach. The statement came as a surprise to everyone since it questioned the qualifications of these hard-core Sheikhs.

As a reaction to Chahine’s lawsuit, Badr organized a rally where he personally handed out photoshoped porn photo of Chahine; An act that was criticized by the media and the public. But unfortunately, that’s how their sick minds operate.

Badr’s incident is not unique. The common traits of Islamist TV channels are misogyny and sexism. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the presenters sound perverts, sexists and extremely disgusting when it comes to the topics they choose to present and the manner they present it. Infatuated by female bodies and their sexual organs, they became famous as the sheiks who think with their lower body parts. Badr on the show that defamed Chahine discussed in details some of her movies, her revealing costumes, her body and intimate roles she played. On similar shows Madonna’s costumes (especially bras) were discussed.

These preachers are ambassadors of the medieval doctrine imported from an intolerant culture that resides behind the dunes of the Arabian Desert. In this culture, infected by physiological diseases that bred misogyny and chauvinism, Islam is misinterpreted according to the warped ideology of the Salafi sheikhs; the role models of Badr and his likes, who are effortlessly trying to integrate this distorted culture into the Egyptian society.

Armored by versus from the Holy book, these preachers’ vision of dominance is by suppressing women, and encouraging and supporting violence against them. Through their TV channels and mosques they spread their venom into the minds of their followers. In their sick minds women are created for sexual pleasures. They fantasize about them, loath them and fear them. Women are a source of threat and insecurity and their reason to sin, and thus need to be controlled.

Chahine’s only sin was that she is a female public figure living in a misogynist society that allows men like Badr to degrade women and mistreat them. Chahine’s courageous act opened the gate for people to rebel against these right wing conservatives, challenge them, and to demand for tolerance, acceptance and respect from them.

As the first sheikh ever to go on trial, Badr’s conviction came as a surprise to many. I am not optimistic that his jail sentence would convey a message to other ultra-conservative preachers to alter or modify their defaming dialogue used on their shows. On the contrary, it will unite them against the ‘secularist attacks’ that they believe is targeting Islam with the purpose of weakening it. However, on a more optimistic note, these charges may be the first step in the long battle for co-existence.

Carmen Blandin Tarleton’s Journey Through Hell

This photo combination shows Carmen Blandin Tarleton. The undated photo at left, provided by the Blandin family, shows Tarleton before the attack. The center photo, provided by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, shows Tarleton in July 2011. The photo at right shows Tarleton on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, after her successful face transplant in February.(AP)

— By: Alexandra Kinias —

Carmen Blandin Tarleton’s story is a tangible manifestation of human courage. Survivor of a heinous attack the doctors described as ‘the most horrific injury a human being could suffer’; she was finally able to go home with a new face. Carmen was the victim of her husband.

The Vermont mother of two was maimed by her husband in 2007 when after a jealous spree; he broke into her home, beat her with a baseball bat, doused her with industrial strength- lye and left her to die, burning from the inside out. The crime changed her life. After the attack which burned 80% of her body, Tarleton spent the next three and a half months in hospital in a medical induced coma. She woke up to the horrific news that she was blind and disfigured. After seven years of painful treatments during which she had undergone 55 surgeries, Tarleton was among sixth person in the US to get a face transplant. Her new face once belonged to a woman who died of a sudden heart attack.

The journey to recovery had been very painful; emotionally, physically and mentally. It is a miracle for her to be where she is today. Her chances for survival were meager, according to her doctors. And if she did, her future was anticipated to be gloomy and bleak. But Carmen showed the world that miracles do happen and that the strength of the human soul is unchallengeable. Undefeated by the disfiguration she was never able to see (Carmen is legally blind as the chemical burnt her retinas) she evolved more powerful than ever. Out there to share her experience with the world, she wants to help people find their inner strength to cope with their own pain and sufferings and carry on with their lives. And along the road of recovery, the former nurse has found happiness and forgiveness. “I learned that … forgiveness doesn’t condone anything he did and it’s not about him – it’s about forgiving him, it’s forgiving myself, it’s allowing myself to move forward and not getting stuck in the tragedy of that night,” said Tarleton.

Carmen could have just lived in the shadows of life simply surviving, but instead she integrated back in the world and realized the purpose in helping other Victims of Violence to reclaim back their shattered lives. Using her own experience, she demonstrated how to counter negativity to positive driving power. She shared her story to help people find their inner strength no matter how much pain they endured or for how long. With the endless reservoirs of strength and hope inside her soul and, Carmen became a motivational speaker and an inspiration to those around her.

In February 2013, Tarlenton had undergone the 14 hours face transplant surgery. The new face that was revealed to the public on May 1, 2013, is the gift that Carmen received at the end of this journey, which for most is an agonizing one, but which she refers to it as incredible. For her the new face gives a closure to a chapter of her life. One she had never anticipated, yet she was able to survive and defeat. “What a great way to move forward with what life has for me now.” Tarleton said.

http://www.overcomebook.com/about-the-author

Women of Egypt: Victories and Defeats in the Last 100 Years – Part Two

Students of Al Azhar University, Cairo – Egypt, prior to the Wahaby Invasion

Article written by: Alexandra Kinias

The six day war in 1967 between Egypt and the State of Israel changed the course of Nasser’s leadership, the map of the ME, the fate of Egypt, and subsequently her women. The turmoil in the Egyptian society had been brewing for a long time prior to that, and to be precise, the road to change started in 1928 with the formation of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB).

Nasser came to power with the blessings of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1952. They supported his coup d’état and in return they anticipated that Nasser would run the country in alliance to their Islamic agenda. For Nasser, a hard core socialist leaning towards the Soviet Union and the iron curtain countries, his perfect society was not founded on religion. In their eternal battle against the West, the Muslim Brotherhood demanded President Nasser implements reforms in the educational system that promoted their doctrine. Failing to see eye to eye with the MB and their demands to Islamize the society and enforce veil on women, as they openly demanded Nasser to do, he became their adversary. [1]

A failed attempt on his life by a Muslim Brotherhood member gave Nasser the green light to eradicate them. [2] The organization was banned and arrest warrants were issued to its members nationwide. This move forced its members to go undercover and to flee the country on self-exile. They were welcomed like heroes by the Saudi government that was in dispute with Nasser whose government supported numerous revolutionary groups against the monarchs in the Middle East including the Saudi regime. [3]

The loss of Sinai in the six day war while it was humiliating to Egyptians, it was celebrated by the Muslim Brotherhood. [4] Losing the war was justified as God’s punishment to Nasser and the Egyptian people for adopting secular beliefs. It was their golden chance to call on the believers to return back to the true path of Islam and abandon the foreign ideologies. Depressed and ridiculed over the loss of land and dignity, these calls resonated with a lot of people. [5]

Living in the shadows of Nasser and without much popularity, Sadat came to power on shaky grounds when Nasser died in 1971. Not wanting to follow in Nasser’s footsteps, Sadat made truce with the Muslim Brotherhood. He released their members from jails and invited those who were in exile to return back. [6]

The next four decades witnessed multiple factors that caused the dramatic change which shifted the society towards religion and caused women’s issues to decline.

With the surge of oil prices after the 1973 embargo, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries were left with unexpected excess of cash that came to be known as Petro-dollars. Millions of Egyptians migrated to help build the newly developed countries. [7], [8] They settled, made a lot of money and a new generation of children was born, raised and attended school there. On their return to their homeland, they brought back not just their wealth, but also cultural habits, beliefs and traditions alien to the Egyptian society. The invasion of Wahhabism into the Egyptian society was first visible in the style of clothing adopted from the Gulf States. Women wore long black dresses and head covers and men grew beards. New businesses opened to accommodate this new transformation. Restaurants and coffee shops served non-alcoholic beverages, and boutiques sold exclusively clothing and headscarves for veiled women.

It is important to note that even after it was banned, the Muslim Brotherhood organization never vanished from the political scene in Egypt. While keeping their eyes on their ultimate goal, its members went underground, regrouped, recruited, reorganized and expanded; Ironically, Sadat was assassinated by the hands of the Jihadist’s group, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. [9]

After Sadat’s assassination, Mubarak had the power and the support to curb the influence of the Islamists; a perfect, but wasted chance to clear the country from their influence. But instead, Mubarak methodically encouraged them to grow. He used the Salafies to fight the Muslim Brotherhood and used them both to manipulate the West. [10] He allowed them to mushroom and invade every household through their ultra-conservative TV channels. Unqualified Sheikhs spread their venom in mosques to the pious and illiterate believers. Among their warped ideology, these misogynist sheikhs promoted and encouraged violence against women. This process of brainwashing was gradual and continued for three decades.

During Mubarak’s thirty years of governing, Egypt slid back into the dark ages. The rate of poverty, corruption and illiteracy soared. Women witnessed a severe decline in their status that was the worst since the turn of the twentieth century.

So the question now is what role did Mubarak’s politics play to reverse the achievements that women gained over the years?

End of Part Two

[1] Muslim Brotherhood ask Nasser to veil women (video)

[2] Mother Jones, Robert Dreyfuss, Feb 2011

[3] History Today, Robert Stephens, 1981

[4] Middle East Forum, Adeed Dawisha, Winter 2003

[5] Martin Kramer, “Arab Nationalism: Mistaken Identity,

[6] History Today, Robert Stephens, 1981

[7] Migration Policy Institute, By Divya Pakkiasamy

[8] Ahram Online, July 2012

[9] Egyptian Islamic Jihad

[10] Egypt’s Islamists: The big bad wolf, By Eric Walberg, April 19, 2011

 

 

Muslim Brotherhood against gender equality in Egypt

Written by: Alexandra Kinias —

The rise of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood to power exposed their misogynist and chauvinist faces, which they had concealed with masks of modernity for too long, to convince the west that they represent a moderate view of Islam. The fall of these masks left no doubt that the road to resurrect their Islamic empire is paved with the bodies of women, minorities and their opponents.

Their last episode of denouncing the UN’s declaration on women’s rights revealed the organization’s true beliefs and principles. Rejecting this declaration that focused on urging an end to violence against women and girls left the members of the Security Council and women organizations worldwide in disappointment and worry about the fate of the women in Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood released a statement on its website, http://www.ikhwanweb.com, warned that this declaration will destroy the society, by allowing a woman to travel, work, use contraception without her husband’s approval, and letting her control family spending. They condemned that the declaration would give wives full rights to file legal complaints against husbands accusing them of rape or sexual harassment, obliges authorities to try and punish husbands with verdicts similar to rapists, sex offenders and sexual harassers, gives girls sexual freedom, legalizes abortion,provides teenagers with contraceptives, gives equality to women in marriage and requires men and women to share duties such as child care and chores, allows “equal rights to homosexuals, provides protection and respect for prostitutes and gives equal rights to adulterous wives and illegitimate sons resulting from adulterous relationships.

After eighty years since its formation, the underground cult of the Muslim Brotherhood is finally playing a role in the Egyptian political stage. Their voices that were silenced by the previous regimes are now loud, violent and disturbing. Motivated and driven by a desire to rule the world, and led by the Leader of the organization and their incompetent President, Mohammed Morsi, their fantasies of re-establishing an Islamic Caliphate modeled after a thousand years old Empire are awaken.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a cult that one is either born into or joins as a child; to be easily manipulated and brainwashed. School children are their highest recruits. They look for them in mosques and youth centers. Inside the bubble where they were born, the members of the Muslim Brotherhood grew up to believe that they are God’s custodians of Islam. For eight decades, the walls of ignorance that insulated, sheltered and concealed them from the outside world also protected the masses from their distorted visions.

Within the confinement of these walls, time has stopped. Women are bred to obey their male guardians and men to follow their Leader. They have formed a sub-society within the societies they live in where tolerance to the outsiders is non-existent. They follow their own laws and rules. They have restrictions and reservations against marriage from outside their cult to reassure that kids are born within their “pure” society. Muslim Brotherhood members consider outsiders as roadblocks in their quest to rule the world. And while they are striving to achieve their goal, their misogynist, chauvinist and pervert leaders want to reverse the clock and bring back women to the dark ages.

In the first parliament after the January 2011 revolution, which the Islamists had won the majority of seats, the elected members had took initial steps to drop the age of marriage of girls to sixteen years old and to repeal the ban on FGM. Luckily the parliament was dissolved before these laws were passed. The sad news is that a female member of the parliament was the one who had proposed these changes. This doesn’t come as a surprise since the Muslim Brotherhood had brainwashed the ‘sisters’ within their cult that they are breeding machines and that the gates of heaven are opened to receive those who are obedient to their husbands.

Sheikhs on television and in mosques promote violence against women by advising husbands to punish their wives by beating them up. They also put the blame and burden on women for being raped or sexually harassed. They spread a culture of misogyny and encourage polygamy as a way to get women off the streets; for their own safety and protection, of course.

Theses custodians of virtue are obsessed with women’s control. The UN declaration for equality shook their core values in which a husband must have “guardianship” over his wife, not an equal “partnership” with her. While the IMF and European Union have both voted against the financial aid to Egypt, a country on the verge of economic collapse, these perverts didn’t spend their time discussing a how to pull the country out of the dark abyss, but they were quite vocal in denouncing the UN declarations. Such actions put in perspective the priorities of the ruling party of Egypt.

Egypt proposed an amendment to the UN that would allow countries to avoid implementing the declaration if it clashed with national laws, religious or cultural values. The suggestion was rejected as it would have undermined the entire declaration. In spite of the pressure she was subjected to, politician and diplomat Mervat Tallawy, President of the National Council for Women in Egypt and head of the Egyptian delegation, surprised and delighted the UN Council when she announced that Egypt would join the consensus and vote in favor of the declaration, defying the ruling party’s wishes.

“International solidarity is needed for women’s empowerment to preventing this regressive mood…. It is a global wave of conservatism and repression against women, and this paper is a message that if we can get together, hold power together, we can be a strong wave against this wave….I believe in women’s cause. I don’t take money from the government. I work voluntarily. If they want to kick me out they can. But I will not change my belief in women. Women are the slaves of this age. This is unacceptable, and particularly in our region.” Tallawy said.

References:

Muslim Brotherhood’s Statement on Women Stirs Liberals’ Fears

Egypt warns giving women some rights could destroy society

Nations approve historic UN blueprint to combat violence against women