Her Voice Counts: Sarah_Elliott_Libya_Egypt_Women_27

Left: Jasmine Hamdoun, 32 and Reem El Adl, 29 spend their day at work and come to Tahrir Square around 4pm everyday. They have a tent in the square and sleep there every night. “We stay here and wait for other people to take part in marches.” They explain they will stay in the square until “the military rule is brought down and there are no military trials for civilians. We are facing more violence now than before; this has to stop. We are calling for a civilian presidential council that will resolve the country. The military must resign because of too much aggression. I think they are using poison gas on us and that many people will leave Tahrir with cancer.”Right: In Tahrir Square, a sign hangs, {quote}Women Are Present Too.{quote} On March 8th, 2011, widely recognized as International Women’s Day, Egyptian women peacefully demonstrated in Tahrir Square. The Coalition of Egyptian Feminist Organizations states “The participants then stood on the pavement, and got involved in a constructive dialogue about issues of citizenship, discrimination and social justice.” Shortly thereafter, participating women were barraged with physical assault, sexual harassment and verbal abuse by a group of men. Women were chased through the square, sexually assaulted and in some cases beaten. Women have been largely barred from all discussions on democracy in Egypt.

Left: Jasmine Hamdoun, 32 and Reem El Adl, 29 spend their day at work and come to Tahrir Square around 4pm everyday. They have a tent in the square and sleep there every night. “We stay here and wait for other people to take part in marches.” They explain they will stay in the square until “the military rule is brought down and there are no military trials for civilians. We are facing more violence now than before; this has to stop. We are calling for a civilian presidential council that will resolve the country. The military must resign because of too much aggression. I think they are using poison gas on us and that many people will leave Tahrir with cancer.” 

Right: In Tahrir Square, a sign hangs, "Women Are Present Too." On March 8th, 2011, widely recognized as International Women’s Day, Egyptian women peacefully demonstrated in Tahrir Square. The Coalition of Egyptian Feminist Organizations states “The participants then stood on the pavement, and got involved in a constructive dialogue about issues of citizenship, discrimination and social justice.” Shortly thereafter, participating women were barraged with physical assault, sexual harassment and verbal abuse by a group of men. Women were chased through the square, sexually assaulted and in some cases beaten. Women have been largely barred from all discussions on democracy in Egypt.