Image of Egyptian army men stripping, kicking veiled female protester creates social media buzz

[Catherina]

Image of Egyptian army men stripping, kicking veiled female protester creates social media buzz

Sunday, 18 December 2011


Social media users widely criticized and circulated a picture of a female Egyptian protester who was stripped from her black abaya by some army men. (Photo courtesy of twitter users)

By DINA AL-SHIBEEB
AL ARABIYA

A picture of a female Egyptian protester who was stripped from her black abaya and allegedly abused by army men has met with angry tweets criticizing the country’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on Saturday.

The photos on social media shows a woman, clothed in just her denim pants, as army men hurl kicks only then to leave the lady unconscious lying on the street.

...

Another bold tweet criticized the military over the “death of a sheikh, a Christian, a child, veiled woman stripped to underwear. Shame on you.”

...

“Fire gutting the historic Egyptian Scientific Institute. 200,000 books dating back to 1798 are gone," said on concerned tweet.

...

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/18/183123.html


Videos from within the last few hours in Egypt

#!

Note: For updates, if interested, follow @Catherina_News on twitter

[David__77]

1. What are the protesters' main demands?

Elections are a fact. Do they really want the elected parties to control the government? Is that it?

[zerox]

2. You see images of protesters being stripped and beaten and ask what it is that they want?

n/t

[uppityperson]

5. Could be a legitimate quest for information, without saying "omg" about the beatings, stripping.

I don't know, haven't been reading yet, wondering what is going on also.

And shame on them for stripping and beating people.

[David__77]

7. Yes, I asked a question - so what?

I hope it's one that progressive Egyptian forces have an answer for, because it looks like there will be no real left in the new Egypt, just like the old.

[joshcryer]

20. This sort of issue is typically solved by civil wars.

Unfortunately.

[Catherina]

9. Egypt is in revolt against the army

The Egyptians want the Army rule over and the SCAF (Supreme Council/Command of Armed Forces) tried for its crimes against the people.

Hope this helps

Article:

Egypt in revolt against army

posted: 1.46pm Mon 28 Nov 2011


Millions of Egyptians don’t want a change of leader—they want a change of regime (Pic: Maggie Osama/flickr.com)

by Judith Orr

Elections began in Egypt this week as mass demonstrations against the military regime clash daily with security forces in Cairo and every major city.

Protesters are demanding that the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) stands down. At least 42 people have been killed and 2,000 injured as state security forces try to repress the protests.

The generals have appointed Kamal Ganzouri as the new prime minister. But Ganzouri is not new. He served under the dictator Hosni Mubarak for 18 years and was prime minister between 1996 and 1999.

News of Ganzouri’s appointment was greeted with shouts of “illegitimate” by the crowds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Field Marshal Mohammed Hussain Tantawi, the Scaf leader, said last week he would bring forward the handover of power to a civilian government to July 2012. But protesters want Tantawi out now.

...

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=26834

[Odin2005]

14. Elections are meaningless if the military can overrule them.

That's what their protesting against.

[dipsydoodle]

3. K &R

[Catherina]

10. Unbelievably busy days

between #ows, #Egypt & #Bahrain, I can barely keep up or keep in touch with friends like you! So sorry.

[Burgman]

4. "Army men"

Makes them sound like plastic soldiers. They were bastards as sure as the pepper spray cop and cops assaulting our own OWS protesters in such fashion are.

[Honeycombe8]

6. The operative word is "men"

I hate to sound sexist, but I can't help but notice time after time of violence over the years, it's men who are violent. That is at least one common thread. OWS...Egypt...civil rights days...lynching...domestic terrorism....international terrorism. There are a few exceptions. Is it the testosterone? Or are men just really ticked off most of the time? Or just unable to control themselves?

[Burgman]

11. I'm a "man" myself.

I think much of what you're speaking of has to do with eons old psycho-social imprinting. I would like very much to think that we're all not that bad and that it's not a biological function of genealogy.

[JoeyT]

23. It's mostly because it's men that are in a position to be violent.

I know plenty of women that, if they were in the right position, would be just as violent as the men. All are well to the right of center (of course they are) and regularly cheer this sort of thing on.

I'd say the main problem is that men are the dominant gender in all the societies you mentioned. The dominant anything is generally perfectly happy to use violence in an attempt to keep that dominance and any other real or perceived dominance at all costs. In a more equal society, men would be less conditioned to believe they can get away with violence against people that are either unable to, or not allowed to(either legally or through social pressure or both), defend themselves. At the risk of attracting a swarm of outraged MRAs, I'm going to go ahead and use the phrase "rape culture".

It's not a control issue. Pepper spray cop for example was perfectly in control. He just thought anyone that challenged him or his ideas should be punished, especially if the targets weren't allowed to fight back. It was deliberate and malicious, and so was this, which makes it far worse.

[seabeyond]

28. agreed. nt

[Honeycombe8]

51. Maybe. But some studies have shown that testosterone is the violence factor.

A study years ago observing female and male chimps...when females were injected with testosterone, they became as violent as the males.

Chaz Bono has said recently that the testosterone injections have caused her to become more aggressive, angry, etc.

Many studies have shown that females are by nature of their hormones and environment not as violent as males.

They are also less prone to impulsive behavior. Look at the incidences of road rage. Look at the incidences of violent crime. There are biological differences between the genders.

[tawadi]

8. Looks like the one soldier is smiling.

Sick.

[joshcryer]

13. Ugh, he is, and that other one about to stomp her looks gleeful, too.

[boppers]

25. Raw fear/agression, and raw glee, look very similar.

It's the teeth-bearing grimace, that humans also see as a "smile". Kind of creepy.

[riderinthestorm]

12. A despicable action. nt

[Odin2005]

15. barbaric!!!

[unkachuck]

16. I see....

....they force women to cover-up in Islamic countries because men have so much respect for women....

[gtar100]

17. Unbelievable! What the hell is wrong with these men?

Is this what being in the military does to one's humanity? You can't tell me their actions were necessary or that they were methodically following orders. It was purely out of their own twisted rage that they did what they did. I sure hope she and the others will recover.

How is it they forget we are all human?

[riderinthestorm]

18. Women in these cultures are NOT equal human beings.

In patriarchal, misogynistic cultures, women are NOT respected as equals so degrading them isn't a big stretch.

That woman/those women were out there in public protesting! Being indecent! (even fully veiled in burqas) Fair game for any male really....

[Catherina]

19. It's not just the women, they're demeaning every1 Some of the pics coming out are frankly disgusting

The pale in comparison to the horrific pics. Well they don't pale, they're the insult to the injury.

To with these two



This one, in case you're not sure, is an Army soldier actually pissing on protesters the first night where they threw concrete blocks, huge filing cabinets, metal wall plates, huge rocks and even dishes on the protesters below



To the person who asked why the protesters are protesting. In addition to the answer I gave you earlier, here is what sparked this latest round... On Dec 16, the Egyptian Army beat the shit out of a young protester who was part of #OccupyCabinet. His testimony and appearance enraged people & they headed to Tahrir to reinforce to reinforce the protesters.

Watch. Or rather look.

[midnight]

21. K&R

[pinboy3niner]

22. K&R

[Nostradammit]

24. That video is one of the saddest things I have ever seen.

And I have seen a lot of sad things in my life.

I am sad of course for that poor woman, who I hope survived but doubt that she did.

And I am also sad for those soldiers, whose brutality and ignorance and hatred shall haunt them forever,
and the vacuum of the decent men they might have been will forever remain empty.

And I am sad for all of us who find ourselves alive on a planet where such a thing is even possible.



Godspeed a healing.

[Liberal_in_LA]

40. the woman in the blue bra survived with cuts and bruises - reported in another article.

[ellisonz]

26. K & R

You'd think the Egyptian military would learn from their mistakes...

[justiceischeap]

27. Why is the soldier that is doing the stomping wearing chuck's?

All the other soldiers are in combat boots, yet the one actually stomping is wearing chuck taylor's.

[dipsydoodle]

29. Sky NEews just showed live footage - 6pm GMT Sunday

Stand off still occuring.

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. Very glad to see you back at posting this info, thank you!!

[suffragette]

31. Horrific

Thank you for posting this. As hard as that is to watch, it's important to know what is being done.

K&R

[seabeyond]

32. i have to wonder how this woman feels about being humiliated, stripped in public, to have

a picture of her spam across the net. if she feels like she was humiliated and victimized once again. i dont see many, if any considering this. just that we seem to have the right to see her vulnerability for our own gains.

what is our responsibility in this. or do we even have one.

[Nostradammit]

34. "our own gains"?!!!

How about for the gains of the Egyptian people? Would you have all atrocities swept under the rug in order to hide the vulnerability of those who are being brutally oppressed?

I have to wonder if your sensitivities aren't seriously misplaced here, seabeyond.

[seabeyond]

35. How about for the gains of the Egyptian people? that would be our gains

yes.

those that support the uprising. they trump this woman, then. she is irrelevant. her needs and wants ignored. for our gains. exactly.

so i ask, as she is humiliated by the soldiers for THEIR gains, what does it say about our responsibility to her vulnerability for our gains.

how does that make us different. to not even consider how she may feel.

[Nostradammit]

36. She is only made irrelevant if we ignore her suffering.

For the record, if you get stomped to death by soldiers in the streets of your hometown, do you want people to know about it?

[seabeyond]

37. i know that if i were being humiliated, i may not be thrilled my photo then

went all over the net. i might have preferred that it not be world wide viewed. i dont know how this woman feels, who is very much alive and did an interview. but, just a general lack of concern for how she may feel, makes me think. not even a consideration. simply, our right to see.

i would like to know how she feels, but the interview was not translated in english.

but, i am comforted to hear, that we have no obligation to consider the victim and whether we are victimizing her a second time.

it makes all of this so much easier.

and if she were being raped. something much more horrendous. do we still have the right to view her rape? is there no line? do we have no responsibility?

[meti57b]

44. I think she would be more concerned about.........

how harsh the next blow to her head is going to be and whether she will survive it.

What a bunch of cowardly chicken-shit guys they are, to go after a woman who is already down.

[seabeyond]

45. yes, they were. and yes she survived.

how far is our right to see all? if they raped her on the street, is it our right to view? is she obligated to be stripped or raped in private to afford it not plastered across the net? this is my question.

do i know how she feels? i do not. there was an interview, but not translated into english. i just wonder, what kind of people we are that we may victimize her twice.

i also watched the video closer. there was a soldier that came into it after a soldier was dragging her and a soldier was kicking her. he said something to soldier kicking her. he stopped. and he covered the woman and seemed to be protecting her from the one draggin her. not that it has been mentioned.

[hue]

33. This is horrible!!! I can barely stand to look!! How can these dear People be helped????

At least the truth is coming out in the media!! Never again will episodes like this be fully suppressed!!!

[LeftishBrit]

38. Just disgusting and horrible.

[dipsydoodle]

39. U.N.'s Ban condemns excessive force in Cairo clashes

(Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned excessive use of force by Egypt's security forces after three days of battles with protesters demanding an end to military rule imposed since Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.

Cairo's Tahrir square - hub of the uprising that ousted Mubarak - has again been convulsed by violence as protesters demand the generals who took charge in February quit power. At least 10 people have died in the past three days.

"Down with Tantawi," about 1,000 protesters chanted late on Sunday, referring to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi who heads the army council and who was Mubarak's defence minister.

Some youths had earlier hurled rocks and petrol bombs at lines of security forces. Riot police appeared to have moved to the frontline instead of soldiers.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/18/uk-egypt-idUKTRE7BG00820111218

[PufPuf23]

41. Good to see you posting Catherina.

I trust you more than anyone at DU regards to the Arab Spring.

I have worried about the commitment by Egypt's military to civil liberties and democratic civilian government.

[Catherina]

46. Hi PufPuf

Thanks a lot

I worry too. They're up against a huge, cruel machine with no conscience.

[riverwalker]

42. article here about the woman

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/18/egypt-military-beating-female-protester-tahrir-square

[Uncle Joe]

43. Stupid, stupid stupid, the Egyptian Army can kiss their moral authority power goodbye.

There is no sense in, nor cause for this brutality.

Thanks for the thread, Catherina.

[Catherina]

48. Updates: woman, couple beaten helping victim in OP / Huge women's march today / 4 students abducted

2. quick updates. The first is simply unbelievable.

When the girl in the blue bra was getting beaten by the military, a woman wearing a red jacket jumped in to help her. If memory's correct, her names (red jacket) is Azza. Azza is in critical condition in the hospital from having taken 20+ hard baton blows to the skull.



Her father, it turns out, was an Army General/High Commander. Unfortunately, he's deceased.

...

2) At 0.49 the woman in the red hooded jacket stop in her tracks and looks to where the woman protester is being attacked while the man in the white shirt appears to gesture her to move along. He then grabs her hand and pulls her away. Meanwhile, a soldier waves his baton threateningly at the two of them, and the man in the white shirt indicates through hand gestures that they were walking away.

3) At 1.23 we see the same woman in the red hooded jacket appear back in the video. She is seen appealing to the Egyptian soldiers to stop attacking the woman on the ground. Video shifts away from this scene.

4) At 1.44, we see the advancing Egyptian military. One of the soldiers knock over the woman in the red hooded jacket, and she falls over the feet of the blue bra woman. The man in white shirt is also knocked down. Both are beaten brutally with the batons. The red hooded jacket woman is kicked in her head many times. And then soldiers hit her the head with the baton. She then becomes motionless. The man in white is similarly kicked and hit in the head with batons. At 2.10 the video shifts to another scene.

5) At 2.37, the video goes back the the scene. We now see the red hooded jacket woman and the white-shirted man lying motionless on the ground. The blue bra protester is not there. Soldiers are seen lifting the woman, and dropping her back to the ground. The video ends here.

...

http://worldlymuslimah.blogspot.com/2011/12/blue-bra-egyptian-protester-and-heroine.html

Another couple also jumped in to help the first young lady and were soundly beaten too.


*****************

Here's a pic of the huge women's march



and a video of the huge women's march in Tahrir today

*****************

More people have died. 4 young people were taken into custody by the military today. The military beat down the door of their home, planted marijuana and molotovs. 2 of the four are young Egyptian men. They're being held in a military prison awaiting *trial* for terrorism. The other 2 are Americans studying at the American University Cairo and being deported. They've been released to the US Embassy.

One of the young men's last tweets was

[font color=blue]isslamkamel
We need help. Amin hotel in bab allouk. 9th floor. thugs are trying to break in #occupycabinet #tahrir
21 hours ago

https://twitter.com/#!/isslamkamel/status/148948299104260097[/font]


Two activists taken by Military Intelligence
Posted on December 21, 2011

My thoughts are with Mostafa Nasr and Isslam Kamel, who were taken from a downtown apartment this morning by military intelligence, and are still in custody. Two Americans who were taken with them have been released and will be deported. Things could wind up a lot worse for Mostafa and Isslam, both lovely intelligent guys.


Mostafa Nasr


Isslam Kamel

http://austingmackell.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/two-activists-taken-by-military-intelligence/


http://austingmackell.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/two-activists-taken-by-military-intelligence/

[Catherina]

50. Update. Both Egyptian young men have been freed & charges dropped

isslamkamel
Guys, Thanks so much 4 the support. We're all free now. I won't be able 2 reply or tweet nw but thnx so much. details 2mrw #FreeIsslamKamel
23 minutes ago

No word yet on the 2 Americans

[Catherina]

49. Also, another woman beaten and the letter T carved into her scalp. T for Tantawi

They beat her, dragged her by the hair, told her "Tantawy is UR master" & engraved the letter T on her scalp - #SCAF



If pic is too graphic, plz tell me and I'll unembed it somehow.

So yeah, the women are MAD because they seem particularly targeted- just as happens with the Occupy protesters. Those are just a few updates. There are many more.