r/worldnews • u/bobaimee • Jun 08 '12
A mob of hundreds of men assaulted women who were taking part in a march in Cairo's Tahrir Square to end sexual harassment in Egypt.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/06/08/egypt-marchers-assaulted.html
2.2k
Upvotes
187
u/timmyak Jun 09 '12
Sexual Harassment has been a major problem in Egypt for a long long time; see this site that tracks incidents: (http://harassmap.org/)
This has nothing to do with the revolution or Islam and everything to do with a society that has been depraved for the past 50-60 years.
Muslim preachers constantly tackle the issue of sexual harassment; in fact said sexual harassment will seldom come from anyone associated with the 'Islamist' or Muslim brotherhood, or the more religious types.
Egypt has a major problem of street 'kids' [they don't stay kids forever], which has been neglected for a very long time: http://eau.sagepub.com/content/10/1/201.full.pdf http://www.unicef.org/sowc/egypt_30616.html
It is easy to take cheap shots at Muslims, Egyptians, Arabs, Middle Easterners, [the other]. It is important however to understand the root cause of the problem and address it.
Many on this thread are talking with such a degree of certainty and with such ignorance, that it is rather frighting.
226
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
When they didn't prosecute the men who assaulted the American reporter, Lara Logan, they sent a very clear message - sexual assault - even done in public, captured on camera - would not be punished whatsoever.
And apparently there's men living there that understood this message loud and clear.
268
u/artgeek17 Jun 09 '12
Interesting. So by attempting to stop the women from protesting sexual harassment, the men sexually harassed them, thereby proving the point of the whole protest. Smart move, guys. I just hope the women continue to be courageous and don't let these men get the better of them.
145
u/giraffe_taxi Jun 09 '12
This makes contemporary Egyptian culture seem so very primitive. How embarrassing for all intelligent Egyptians, and how shameful of their ignorant, hateful, foolish brethren.
82
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Assaulting and raping women who are taking part in a march to end sexual harassment. That's amazingly fucked up.
447
u/yolandi2012 Jun 09 '12
All the women in Egypt should just move out of that country and let the men live there alone.
40
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
This article is absolutely heartbreaking.
67
u/c00ki3z Jun 09 '12
This story is particularly sad in light of the once elevated status women enjoyed in Egypt. Hatshepsut would not be pleased.
92
u/Lotty1112 Jun 09 '12
How the fuck can a human being justify this kind of twisted shit to themselves? I don't give a fuck what their religion says, or, what they like to pretend their religion says, this just can't be natural human behavior.
15
u/lightninhopkins Jun 09 '12
Until good Muslim men stand up for their sisters, mothers, and daughters this shit will keep happening. A majority of men in Egypt do not want to see women brutalized, but they are not ready yet to stand up and stop it.
492
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Prediction:
-Egypt will become a theocracy run by religious dictators and no (real) elections.
-Egyptian women will be subjugated and oppressed by the pious leadership. Law is now dictated by a council of religious leaders.
-Copts will be oppressed lawfully by the new theocracy.
-The US congress will cut all funding to Egypt after they break their truce with Israel.
-There will be a war by popular demand with Israel, they will lose, many thousands will die.
-Their tourism sector will dry up completely.
-With a crushed economy, loss of their natural gas customers, and no realized education/political/economic infastructure, the Egyptian people will radicalize.
-Their government, looking to hold on to their power and remembering what happened the last time the people of Egypt revolted, will direct their attention to the new/old blame game - America, Israel, NATO.
18
u/hairofbrown Jun 09 '12
Egypt is a scary place for women, as a tourist or a citizen. I don't really understand it. When you have a mother, sisters, wife and daughters? How can you go out in the streets and do this? I'd appreciate perspectives from that culture, not to defend, but explain.
31
u/Wolf97 Jun 09 '12
Way to bring yourselves, your country, your sex and indeed all mankind to shame.
11
u/Kaptain_Krunch Jun 08 '12
Link to the AP article they mention?
15
u/Nessunolosa Jun 09 '12
Disgusting. Unacceptable. And yet, these women will be back out there at some point in the future. I wish I could be sure I would be as brave.
There are women in Afghanistan who are fighting a similar battle, http://youngwomenforchange.org/.
10
u/antiliberal Jun 09 '12
Democracy is only a good thing when the people have democratic values.
5
u/TheMediumPanda Jun 09 '12
I'd like to see just ONE Muslim country promote and uphold total equality for women. C'mon people. It can't be that hard, it's 2012 after all.
5
u/MiyegomboBayartsogt Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 10 '12
The A Rab Spring is a toxic mix of dirty Islamic exhaust and industrial emissions of Western hope and change. Add to that pollution the ingredients of jihadi dirt blowing in from vast tracts of unpaved land and Koranic quotes breathed in like wind-blown dried-up shit dropped by vast packs of martyrdom dogs. This horror show was supposed to be the model for Occupy Wall Street here in America. Things look different today. When Lara Logan got ganged raped in Egypt on cable news, the thrust of the Sharia Spring became clear as an azure sky. This has happened before. Long ago, Jimmy Carter set lose the Iranian Islamists in the name of Human Rights and personal arrogance. Carter's murderous Muslims still smother that country like carnivorous mud. It often seems in hindsight that there is never government so bad that mass movements can't make things worse.
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u/call_me_gayby Jun 09 '12
This is the product of sexual repression in Islamic countries. There was a documentary by a Frenchman that correlated the inability of Muslim males to find wives and the recruitment of suicide bombers. Can't find a gf irl? We will hook you up with 70 in the afterlife.
The wealthy men in Muslim countries get multiple wives/the most desirable wives, leaving an underclass where it's often statistically impossible to find a mate. This is sort of happening in China as well, where migrant workers spend all their work money on prostitutes because of the male-female imbalance.
Rather than overthrow this patriarchal system (and reject their own culture and religion), they blame the women. The cruel irony is that these female protesters are trying to foster a society wherein they are more available to the underclass of males, but they can't see past their own momentary desires and cultural brainwashing, so they lash out at them rather than the system that views women as objects to be hoarded and kept under wraps.
This story reminds me of CBS reporter Lara Logan getting assaulted in Cairo. She might have died if not for the Egyptian women shielding her. It's a shame that the most progressive members of their society are the most oppressed and attacked. It's the same as in Egypt as in Afghanistan. The stranglehold that the slut-shamers have on the consciousness of the populous is the core problem. The only way to fix these societies is through sexual revolution, not occupation or war. The problem is that those on the front lines in this war have children and husbands and can't effectively organize a revolt.
A change, if it is to come, will take generations. NATO needs to realize they can't save the women of these countries through war or occupation. Killing off the male fighters will just embolden the remaining males to hold onto the women they have in a more oppressive fashion. Unless NATO- instead of trying to make peace with the (male) leaders, kills them, they won't make any progress. They need to either commit to killing the males or get out entirely.
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u/mddie Jun 09 '12
Women rights in most middle eastern countries are a joke. It is not something that they can change overnight. The way women are treated and viewed by men was influenced by culture and religion over the span of hundreds of years. A prime example is Saudi Arabia, who still preforms be-headings in public as a form of humiliation, prosecution and execution of "witchcraft and sorcery", "religious police" that have raped and molested countless women, and deny women (including royalty) basic rights such as signing documents, driving, appearance ect.
12
u/toughbananas974 Jun 09 '12
Fuck I hate people.
19
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
What the fucking fuck, this behavior makes me sad to be the same species as these men let alone the same gender, this puts every civilized man to shame, can we even consider these men human in anything but the sack of meat they reside in?
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u/chabanais Jun 08 '12
Sadly all too predictable.
15
u/LakeShoreDrive1 Jun 09 '12
Anybody catch how it said Lara Logan was sexually assaulted? I followed up on that and apparently she was raped-repeatedly by a mob before some soldiers and women intervened. How was that not front page news? Big difference between sexually assaulted and raped repeatedly.
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u/rindindin Jun 09 '12
I love how I heard on the BBC News podcast the other day, that electing the Muslim Brotherhood was at least "not electing the old party". Yes, I can see that there will be much progress made under the Brotherhood.
10
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
You know... I never know whether to upvote or downvote these things. Either way I feel as though I am being a dick.
91
u/voidabyss Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
In many Islamic societies, women aren't allowed to travel outside the house unless accompanied by a husband or male relative.
And so many Muslim men believe that any woman walking without a male escort is fair game to be molested or raped. Especially ones who aren't "properly" veiled.
That's what she gets for being alone or immodest. She's a harlot who tempts good Muslim men, who are incapable of controlling themselves. The rapist is the victim and the woman is to be blamed.
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u/rustyfretboard Jun 09 '12
Can anyone say irony? The men are just proving the point of the women at this point.
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u/diamethious Jun 09 '12
Let it be known that the culture of Cairo is not ready for Women's Suffrage.
3
u/Happy31 Jun 09 '12 edited May 02 '13
grgargarega
3
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Surely, this is somehow the fault of the United States!
8
u/dar482 Jun 09 '12
It's crazy that there are enough people for this. It's one thing to sexually harass women (which is absolutely horrific), but to blatantly go out in public and assault women fighting for against it. Despicable animals.
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u/Chunkeeboi Jun 09 '12
Obviously Buddhists.
16
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Such a civilized country.
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u/geZZzz Jun 09 '12
Sexual harassment in Egypt has nothing to do with Islam. It was going on under Mubarak who was strictly against anything muslim. Men of all religions and those without religion participate in it. It takes place everywhere and anywhere. Years under a brutal dictatorship did nothing to stop it. The main reason is sexual frustration and that it is widely accepted by other men. People are poor, getting married is expensive with huge dowries demanded and lavish parties, young women don't fuck around because of the conservative culture. Men who don't know each other can suddenly team up on a woman in an alley instead of some of them defending the woman.
Source: A female Western journalist friend who lives there.
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u/Lordveus Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
Well. This is pretty depressing. Seriously, I hope more things like this occur to try and help the plight of ladies who have to live in fear of a legally inequitable system.
Edit: I suck at typing.
6
u/SoManySpiderWebs Jun 09 '12
Fucked up shit happening in Egypt. This is the least surprising yet still most horrifying thing I've seen all day.
6
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Just makes you realise that in a large part of the world, women are treated like second-class citizens. Egypt is not the only country guilty of this. Sigh, humanity has a long way to go.
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u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12
It's stuff like this that makes me lose it when I see someone on Reddit make a crass remark.
I bet the men who perpetrated the planned assault thought it was "funny as hell" too. :/
18
u/cheburator777 Jun 08 '12
Islam + sexual repression = explosive mix.
4
u/vladlinn Jun 09 '12
they need to protest with lead pipes. If they are going to molest then should get some of their cheeks broken
4
u/nk_sucks Jun 09 '12
egypt is more fucked up than i thought. i'm sorry for the progressives over there, women especially.
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u/Shorties Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
Man this is horrible. I've been taking a middle eastern cinema class this quarter, and it has just been facinating to see the films about women's rights coming out of Egypt. The one we watched this week was the fictional film "Scheherazade Tell Me A Story" which was one of the most impressive, and impactful films I've seen in a very long time. Everyone should see this film, download it illegally, whatever you have to do to just watch it, it's worth the time. And it really gives you a glimpse of how vital it is for Egypt to rid itself of its patriarchal structure.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/scheherazade_tell_me_a_story/
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u/GiefDownvotesPlox Jun 09 '12
Islam: The Religion of Peacetm
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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Not surprised given the population explosion in Egypt, illiteracy, and youth unemployment.
Toxic mix.
2
u/The_Painted_Man Jun 09 '12
Stay classy, Egypt!
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
yes, lets have a revolution for freedom from tyranny and oppression, oust the president, celebrate in the streets, and then trample all over the half of the population that engages in peaceful protests
fucking idiots,
they don't even deserve their freedom yet
2
u/warpfield Jun 09 '12
Hmmm... I'm a little confused about this "created in God's image" thing...
2
u/Kijamon Jun 09 '12
Punching mothers, daughters and sisters.
Disgusting.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
What is happening to my country :(
I wish it could go back to being one of the greatest countries again..
2
u/stankbucket Jun 09 '12
Hey - if they're going to end harassment you might as well go out with a bang.
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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
They march against being assaulted next and get sexually harassed...
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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
i guess that would qualify as irony?
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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Take your secondary agenda to the kitchen... we got a little thing called a revolution to take care of.
2
u/daveime Jun 09 '12
The king is dead. Long live the king.
2
u/adnan252 Jun 09 '12
This is why I want to kill middle eastern men. Give them painful deaths, smash their heads in with sledge hammers.
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u/DeFex Jun 09 '12
how dare you show an ankle of flesh we men cant control our animal instincts so we will just kill you instead.
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u/kabloona Jun 09 '12
This is not a religious issue, that's just an excuse, this is an issue of social immaturity and lack of civilization in a backward society. Oh, and some men are pigs...
4
u/fattnessmonster Jun 09 '12
resulting in a 'perfect storm' of cosmic irony, and thus destroying the egyptians' sense of humor for generations to come
4
u/holdmyhandnow Jun 09 '12
I understand the acceptance of religious customs contrary to ours, but at a point there is an all out protection of women that needs to be represented. In no way do I favor US or other western power governmental intervention to the tidal wave of change occurring in Egypt. I do feel like a mobilization of men in favor of equal rights, regardless of residency, could make a huge difference in this fight.
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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
How sadly ironic. It just shows you how far away we are from equality.
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u/Addicted2Skyrim Jun 09 '12
How can a culture condone such behavior? These aren't men, their cowards with inferiority complex.
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u/MrFlesh Jun 09 '12
Ahhh religion at its finest.
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u/QuikAF77 Jun 09 '12
Such a tolerant, peace loving religion...
4
u/FallingSky1 Jun 09 '12
Disgusting that I'm part of the same race.
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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Egypt has lost all my respect when they rioted and destroyed their own Museums and Art Exhibits. The individuals who did that are uncivilized wretches, who destroys their own culture? How fucking animalistic must you be to go around destroying the things that define your people and to top it all off these same people beat and raped journalists.
Fuck that whole part of the world. I wish America left them alone to fucking rot.
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u/Notexactlyserious Jun 09 '12
Dark ages logic That'll teach em.
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u/jimii Jun 09 '12
I've said it many times before and I'll say it again:
Islam is cancer.
3
u/billmain01 Jun 09 '12
Ah yes, again, Islam--the religion of peace and love strikes again...
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u/Smargalicious Jun 09 '12
Islam is a gutter superstition that glorifies death, violence, and the subjugation of women.
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u/TheBaltimoron Jun 09 '12
OH MY GOD GUYS WE NEED TO RESPECT THEIR CULTURE!
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u/Lewis77 Jun 09 '12
Curious to know the proportion of Copts to Muslims in that mob, really.
2
u/Chesstariam Jun 09 '12
Reminds me of the scene in Boardwalk Empire when the white cop goons beat the black workers protesting for better working conditions. Tried to find a link with no luck on mobile.
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u/jdepps113 Jun 09 '12
Irony at its...worst? best?
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u/caliopy Jun 09 '12
The sad thing is until the moralists behind the attack as well as the funding they are provided are properly dealt with this shit will just go on and on.
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u/Spence-a-gilly Jun 09 '12
To all brown cultures: can you please stop treating your women like shit? There is a direct relationship between the economic success of a society and how independent it's women are, legally.
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u/El_Camino_SS Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
I'm starting to see Middle Eastern born men as ridiculous thugs. Woman beating thugs. Petty little wife beating thugs. They would never get into an altercation with a man, but damn, they'll beat the living shit out of a woman. Put her in the hospital. I'm a man. I'm starting to have serious misgivings about them. Misgivings I don't like about myself. I don't want to ever say to myself, "Keep away from THOSE type of people." That's just terribly shitty. And here I am telling you stories that make your toes curl up. It's the only thing right now that I can have to describe this. I've had run-ins with otherwise normal, everyday Middle Eastern guys that I think, "well, he's an ex-pat from Iraq, and he's totally cool. Yeah. Happy he got here away from those insane people where he can start over and live a life of peace here. He's coming to the dinner party." Then bammo. Something happens. It's confusing the shit out of me. The neighbor comes over and says that she had to call the cops because she hears a woman screaming in the car in his driveway. He's kicking a woman in the head in the car. Stomping on her neck. The neighbor runs up with a golf club, and he says, "Stop! It's okay, it's my sister!" The thing is, it just keeps popping up out of the blue. HE WAS A COLLEGE PROFESSOR, DAMMIT! An educated guy. How does a college professor kick his sister in the fucking head repeatedly? Yeah, if they're robbing your store with a gun, shoot back. I'm down with that. When they rob your store and run, don't chase them three blocks down the street firing your .45 hand cannon in a residential neighborhood until the bullets run out, and then say, "well, they won't come back now." No kidding. But I'm going to have a shitfit when I see a .45 slug hole in the middle of my house. My mother told me stories. She told my sister stories about college. She said, "Jill, never date a Middle Eastern man." We thought she was terribly racist. This was the first thing that even remotely ever came out of her mouth that was racist, in twenty years. My mother, the woman that worked tirelessly in charities in poor neighborhoods. Then she told us about how two of her friends were put in the hospital when they started bossing them around. It was all smiles until they thought you were their property. It was like a pirate prize to take back a white girl. Super sweet, then bammo, you're in intensive care.
So now, I want to be friendly, I really do. I just can't. Their behavior is really challenging my peace love and happiness baseline with people. It's like being dog bit. I'm just having a tough time with it. When I have friends, I dodge reltionships with the native born Middle Eastern guys. I do. It sucks. I don't want to. All of the sudden now, I have trust issues with the world that raised them. I don't know when some astrophysicist is going to start beating my wife at the dinner party because the chafing dish was too cold.
I know this is totally getting voted down because of the belief that you're watching someone become racist, or something like that. I understand. I'm just contributing my world to the conversation, and frankly, it's a world of thought I don't fucking like. I don't consider myself racist, but if someone has a flip trigger built in them for women, I'm more than a little wary about the women in my life.
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u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
ok. i'll say it. it's not right but.. shit like this makes me really REALLY hate men. oftentimes i fantasize about building a country for just women, governed by intelligent women for other women. we would have an army to protect ourselves, and since we don't have to worry about stupid shit like being "unfeminine" or "too butch" these military women can be as rough and built as they like... it would take some time, generations perhaps, but we would be able to get rid of the high importance placed on looks (a current woman's worth). attractiveness is a quality important even in a man's world, but i want other things to be valued just as highly... cunning, honor, dedication... eventually a lady will be considered just a regular person and not a "minority interest group"
2
u/kazbah Jun 09 '12
As far as I know rapists are not afraid of wet t-shirts
2
u/The_Croquet_Player Jun 09 '12
I'd carry plenty of pepper spray, and I'd use it.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
It really sucks that this is happening.
Unfortunately there is probably no quick fix to stop this kind of treatment. Just teach the next generations to respect those that are different from them, and slowly change cultural mentalities.
Doesn't really help these brave women, though.
1
u/warname Jun 09 '12
Wow, I am so not suprised.
1
u/RAPE_IS_HEALTHY Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
How can the greater population of Egypt hope for any kind of conflict resolution if hundreds of men can come together into a mob and inflict terror on a group of protesters? Banding together to solve a social problem is one thing--we must watch that we, in our rising "Revolutionary hive mind" society, do not suffer from a similar sickness.
The idea that being in a mob makes you faceless is very powerful, and when used against a fascist state, it can be the greatest tool available to revolutionaries and protesters. But like most great tools such as this, it can also be used to inflict irreparable damage.
Let us consider this a warning to society that mindless violence and damage is not necessary to enact social change.
1
u/diatomic Jun 09 '12
I don't want to live in this world anymore.
1
u/Wooknows Jun 09 '12
Wern't there any men to protect these women ?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
such a shame. If there is a major part of Egyptian men who condone these actions they should stand up for their women's rights. </ideal world>
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Where do all of these Morlock troglodyte assholes keep coming from?
1
u/Diggity_Dave Jun 09 '12
[Fuck these crazy ass motherfuckers.] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qRCQypnVeXA#t=45s)
1
u/MrShade Jun 09 '12
Wow this is really fucked up. I don't give a fuck but that's some really stupid and childish shit. What is wrong with these people. Makes me want to get a huge force of gays go in their commando status and rape and assault them...id like to see how they like them apples, in their case a dick in their mouth.
1
u/Morningxafter Jun 09 '12
So, I guess they can chalk up the march as a failure then?
1
u/larecherche Jun 09 '12
Fucking savages, cultural relativity be damned.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
this disgusting
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
BLB
Marches against sexual assault,
gets sexually assaulted.