Egypt

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Population: 82,079,636
Capital: Cairo
Language: Arabic (official)
Religion: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%
Life Expectancy: 72.66 years
GDP per Capita: $6,200


• Only males may confer citizenship; children born to women with foreign husbands are not conferred the benefits of citizenship
• 47% of women say they have experienced physical abuse by a male partner or intimate
• Honor killings regularly occur (2006)—47% of honor killing were because the woman had been raped
• Infant mortality rates are higher for girls then boys
• 90% of girls who have undergone female genital mutilation were under 14 years old at the time. An estimated 90% of FGM procedures are performed by doctors or other trained medical personnel.
• Under 5% of women are in government


I’m sure we are all aware of what’s been going on in Egypt over the past few weeks. Take a look at these quotes from this article ; the article talks about women and the recent protests and uprisings that have taken place.


“The revolution called for democracy, equality and freedom. But importantly, it also advanced the position of women, because it allowed women, and other excluded groups in society, to take part in a movement that was redefining society.”


“Egyptian women have the right to an equal position in the new society, and through their role in the revolution they have learned the most important lesson, which is that through ongoing mass protest and determination they will eventually win their demands.”


“This should inspire all fighters for women’s rights around the world. Through building a mass movement for change we can win full equality for women.”


Here some more neat articles if your intrested:


--Egypt protests--thousands of men and no groping!

--Changes in women rights-egypt

--Women inspired by Arab uprisings

And here is my favorite quote from the first one, “Egypt has a sexual harassment problem. In a 2008 study, 86 percent of women said they had been harassed on Egypt's streets—any woman walking through a crowd of men in Egypt braces to get groped. But in the square, crammed in shoulder-to-shoulder, men apologized if they so much as bumped into you. After wandering around the protests for days, it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't been groped, a constant annoyance when I'm faced with large crowds in Cairo. When I pointed this out to other women in the square, we all took a moment to reflect. "I hadn't even thought of that," one woman in Tahrir told me. "But it's because we're all so focused on one goal, we're a family here."


I find it amazing that what is happening in Egypt is bringing so many people together and also allowing a chance for women to stand up for what they believe in and an opportunity for change, hopefully women around the world can be inspired by these brave Egyptian women!


Thanks for Reading!