Almost two years have passed since human rights and feminists
organizations expressed their deep concern at the escalation
of policies that reinforce impunity, do not protect citizens
and do not guarantee the right of peaceful assembly. The exclusion
of women from the public sphere through direct incitement and
aggression must be condemned. The heinous crimes of sexual violence
cannot be separated from the decline of the social status of
women.
The revolution of January 25, as the Egyptians call it, is the
fourth in the last hundred and thirty years. The modern national
movement has sought an effective national sovereignty, particularly
with regard to economy and the ability to ensure socio-economic
justice in the distribution of wealth and income. The Egyptian
people discovered that without internal democracy it is impossible
to preserve the conquests from previous revolutions. January
25 revolution asserts, then, the centrality of democracy, not
only as a utopian goal, which practical implementation would
be deferred indefinitely, but to lay the foundations of a modern,
independent and prosperous country.
The general goals of the revolution faced challenges with the
contemporary regime, as core rights were jeopardized, starting
off with child rights, a lot of violations were witnessed especially
recently with the ongoing protests demanding the regime to commit
to the revolution's principles.
In its latest report, the Egyptian Coalition for Child’s Rights
(ECCR) stated that in the clashes (26-27 January 2013) following
the second anniversary of the January 25 revolution, 91 children
less than 18 years of age were detained by Cairo police in inhumane
conditions. "The statement denounced the use of children
in clashes, and the state and society’s failure to offer them
basic rights of protection. Many children were interrogated
by the police without the presence of a lawyer or adult relatives
before they were released."(2.1) According to the law they
should have been interrogated within 24 hours of their arrest,
but all children were detained for four days before seeing a
prosecutor. "The statement also explained that the children
were interrogated by a general prosecution and not a child’s
prosecution which violates the rights put out in article 122
of the Egyptian Child’s Law".(2.2)
Egypt's
human rights threatened under current constitution fiasco
A drafted Egyptian constitution heavily influenced by Islamist
conservatives contains articles that could pose a serious threat
to basic human rights in post-Mubarak Egypt. The constitution
fails to meet that standard because of vague language or limitations
that destroy the essence of many rights."While the draft
upholds some civil, political, social and economic rights, other
key provisions are inconsistent with international human rights
standards and would pose a serious threat to the future of human
rights in Egypt" (3.1). Article 5 of the draft failed to
ban torture, Article 36 threatened equality between men and
women, while Article 9 "would amount to a serious threat
to freedom of speech and religion. The failure to fully prohibit
torture is especially surprising given the fact that anger against
police abuse played a central role in the January 2011 uprising"
(3.2). Human Rights groups accuse Morsi regime’s of far greater
abuse of human rights than that of Mubarak’s.
A statement prepared by 21 human rights organizations urged
President Mohamed Morsi to put an end to the rapid deterioration
of human rights in Egypt. [“The human rights record over the
past eight months since President Mohamed Morsi took the seat
of power… are worse than it was before the revolution in the
era of the former president,” the joint-statement warned] (4).
There is plenty of evidence which incriminates the Muslim Brotherhood
and the police in the kidnapping of protesters. Morsi’s government
seems to be trying to use violence against demonstrators as
a weapon to settle things down until the upcoming elections.
The kidnapping of activists and protesters are a tool to settle
the community until they can secure the elections.
Gender and women rights
On March 8, 2011, Egyptian women took to the streets to celebrate
International Women's Day. Since 25 January 2011, Egypt had
witnessed a momentous transformation in protest culture and
power, wherein millions of people took to the streets to demand
their political rights. Surprising to many, though, was the
marked hostility and violence that was unleashed against women
protesters, as they were harassed and shouted at by groups of
men who gathered around them. They were accused of following
western agendas, and of going against cultural values. "Among
the many reasons for this turn of events, it is argued that
one of the key obstacles that women's rights faced in the months
after is a prevalent public perception that associates women's
rights activists and their activities with the ex-First Lady,
Suzanne Mubarak, and her entourage — that is, with corrupt regime
politics in collusion with imperialist agendas."
Along the course of time and almost two years after that instant,
Feminist and human rights organizations express deep concern
due to the escalation of state policies that reinforce the state
of impunity and which refrain from protecting citizens and securing
peaceful assembly. The perpetuation of the approach of groups
that support the regime in targeting female activists and excluding
women from the public sphere through direct incitement and aggression
must be condemned. Such atrocious crimes of sexual violence
cannot be separated from women’s declining social status. There
must public accountability for such crimes as women should not
be out casted or tooled for political or tactical considerations.
– Third World Network Features.
Source: Social Watch National Report 2013, Egypt http://www.socialwatch.org/node/15801
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