A year has passed since I wrote this. I feel so sad that what has transpired since the uprising was even worse than I had predicted/envisaged. What has changed for the better? What will happen to the women of Egypt. We can’t trust those men in charge to whom we are but a collection of body parts, belonging to them & society, rather than autonomous human beings with rights and legitimate demands. So once again, we need an uprising, a revolution. We can’t let those Mubaraks with beards control our futures.

msunderstand

I love my country. I want to carry on loving my country and I want it to be a society of equals. The feelings of disappointment and disenfranchisement rising within me as I witness the ‘transitioton democracy’ are  unnecessary and avoidable. Women have been at the forefront of this revolution since the start, laying down their.lives and risking everything in the search for democracy.

What is democracy, but the right to participate in the politics which affect us? What is democracy, but the fight for freedom and equality as citizens? What is freedom, but the ability to make decisions for yourself and not have them made for you? Why are women once again, becoming invisible and sidelined in matters of decision making and consultation on the birth of our new country. The women of Egypt are brave and strong and have endured the pains of this revolution as much as…

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Egyptians in London protesting AGAIN at LSE, this time Selim El-Awwa

So, LSE doesn’t seem to learn from its lessons, which should be odd for a place of education.

After the Boutros-Ghali debacle but a few weeks ago. They invited the ire of Egyptians in London, who descended on LSE again & this time protested Selim El-Awwa. Best friend of SCAF & sectarian agitator.

You can watch this bunch of very pissed off Egyptians here. I wonder who LSE will invite next?

Deja vu

deja vu.

This time last year I was doing what I’m doing now, rushing around & being late for a rally in Trafalgar Sq. Last time the day ended with Mubarak’s downfall & the beginning of the new dictatorship, SCAF. There’s a little part of me that hopes that tonight I’ll be celebrating their downfall too. I doubt it, the chances are miniscule, but a girl can dream.

Two Tales from Egyptian Parliament yesterday.

I read two stories yesterday, both probably happened around the same time. When reading the first story, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The second story makes me never want to stop crying.

The second story is much more important, but I want to get the first out of the way. This story was one that was dominating my timeline, both on Twitter & Facebook & for good reason too. Take a moment to watch these hijacking Islamist MP caterwauling in Parliament. The ‘religious’ (faux) equivalent of willy-waggling. Goodness knows, there are enough mosques in Cairo. There is nowhere to hide from the Azaan & I don’t believe it is incumbent on any Muslim to suddenly break into the Azaan, no matter what the circumstances. That is what the Mu’zen (person whose actual JOB it is to do the Azaan (call to prayer)) in the mosque is for. Some people can’t help making a spectacle of themselves.

Meanwhile, outside Parliament, what was happening? I saw this on only one person’s wall on Facebook & was filled with horror & shame that the desperation of those who have nothing is still so palpable & crying out for attention in these times of news overload. The same people that were being overlooked before are being overlooked now. This poor man, whose name I don’t even know, had set fire to himself outside Parliament, after losing his job there. Perhaps, even while the Azaan fiasco was ongoing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI-u8_8hwj4

I believe that many in Parliament, especially those elected on a moral/religious ticket are following in the same footsteps and falling into the same traps as their prior secular ruling tormentors. Where’s the outrage & discussions of important matters for the citizens who are most deserving of it? What are the priorities?

Shame on them!

Candlelit Vigil in London for those Massacred in #PortSaid #Egypt

You would have thought that those evil dictators in SCAF wouldn’t have been able to shock us Egyptians anymore. But this week, they’ve outdone themselves again.

The massacre at Port Said was not about football, but once again, an orchestrated State-sponsored attack on those who would stand against their corruption and oppression.

The Ultras (Ahly fans) who were killed have been instrumental in many of the revolutionary protests and this was revenge,  a warning, and incitement – pure & simple. An act of war & they’ve made it personal to so many Egyptians now, even those who were unconvinced by the revolutionaries & uninvolved in politics. Their blood was cheap only to SCAF.

I could see the shock & sadness so palpable in the faces of those at the vigil. Many of them knew people who had died. I’ve seen many of those people at the protests for over a year now and there seemed to be a different quality of sadness that day. The senselessness & unexpectedness was in spite of everthing, still a shock. It’s clear that SCAF have a psychopathic & sociopathic sense of impunity as there reaction to the international condemnation clearly shows.

For now, we remember the dead. Then, we must honour them by bringing their demands of freedom to life.

Please watch the video & share it. Please also come to the protest in Trafalgar Sq, London on Saturday 11th February if you can make it. Down with the military regime!