Turkey- Egyptian women speak out about post Mubarak Egypt


(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) "Nothing canbecompared to what we are living now. Not even Mubarak's era" says Salma Ashraf one of the thousands of Egyptian women forced to leave her home and who now live in Istanbul.

Anadolu Agency spoke with three Egyptian women ahead ofthe Feb. 11 anniversary of the fall of former Egyptian autocrat HosniMubarak in 2011.

Mubarak’s three decades in power came to an end when the Egyptian army dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution.

However for Egyptian women hoping for a better life society there has not changed for the better.

According to a Human Rights Watch 2015 report on Egypt assaults on women and sexual harassment have continued despite recent governmentefforts to combat these crimes.

Although laws prohibitother forms of violence against women such as child marriage and female genital mutilation these continue in some areas the report said.

Ashraf is a Turkey-based legal researcher onEgyptat Human Rights Monitor an independent non-profit organization headquartered in London.

She said that during Mubarak's era women were mostly interested in their homes and families but following the revolution of Jan. 25 thousands of women took to the streets.

"In Mubarak's era women were members of parliament and they continued to occupy more important positions in [deposed former president Mohamed] Morsi's era as well" she added.

However according to a report from Amnesty International on Egypt for 2014/2015 outgoing interim president Adly Mansour had approved a law to combat sexual harassment but the measures had not materialized by the end of the year.

Ashraf says that people's daily life now -- under the rule of military strongman Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a former army chief who ousted Morsi in a 2013 coup -- is characterized by continuous crimes against humanity.

"The rape of women and children in places of detention; detention of thousands of political prisoners including women and children; torture in all detention centers and prisons; military trials of civilians; killing in the streets houses and in prisons are happening on a daily basis" she said.

Despite five years having passed since Mubarak's fallthesituation of Egyptian women has worsened. For thatreason many have left the country out of fear of arrest and a desire for political freedom.

Ashraf said that in 2013 she was forced to leave because her human rights group in Cairo received threats promising to shut it down.

"Yet I managed to continue my work from different places until I traveled for an international conference where everyone was photographed byEgyptian national journalists and accused of being a terrorist.

“Following this I could not return to my country as my name was on a list at the airport" she added.

The Human Rights Watch 2015 report claims that although Egypt's new constitution contained the right to peaceful assembly free expression and association the authorities have detained thousands merely for protesting.

Ashraf said: "Nothing can be compared to what we are living now. Not even Mubarak's era.

“The human rights situation has been deterioratingseverely since the militarytakeoverafter theouster of MohamedMorsi and although therewasa transmission period and a temporary president … it is all the same in fact.

“It was all directed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.”

In December of 2010 a Tunisian street vendor set himself on fire to protest humiliation and harassment he suffered at the hands of a policeman. The incident sparked regional anti-regime protests later known as the “Arab Spring” which exploded onto the streets ofEgypton Jan. 25 2011.

Egyptian citizens demonstrated against unemployment corruption and the Mubarak regime. On June 16/17 2012Egyptians voted in the country’s first-ever free presidential elections. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi becameEgypt’s first-ever democratically elected president.

Menna Khalil anotherEgyptian woman living in Istanbul also said that they were more hopeful about their future during the Morsi era.

"During Morsi's regime we had hope of changing many things without being afraid of being arrested or killed" she told Anadolu Agency.

Khalil a housewife 27 said that freedom of speech and respect for women in general was obvious in Morsi era.

She leftEgypt with her husband three days before the coup [in 2013] for her honeymoon in Malaysia. However they were then unable to return to Egypt. Then they decided to come to Turkey.

D.A. a teaching assistant in Cairo said thatthe status of women during Mubarak's era was “awful”.

She said: “Socioeconomic conditions of women deteriorated due to state neoliberal policies and lack of strong safety networks for uneducated divorced and poor women.”

She said that it was hard to say if the 2011 revolution had succeeded or not.

"It [the revolution] was a definitely a turning point inEgyptian history andthe possibility of a revolution is a threat for the current regime" sheadded.

For the security situation in Egypt she said it was getting worse after the coup and the state was unable to spread its control over Sinai Peninsula.

Since Morsi’s fall northern Sinai has remained the epicenter of a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces.

Over the course of the last two years the Welayet Sinai [Province of Sinai] group -- said to be linked to the extremist Daesh organization -- has claimed responsibility for a spate of deadly attacks on Egyptian forces deployed in the volatile region.

For D.A. enough is enough: "I would like to leaveEgypt" she says.

Thechanges inEgyptalso affected its relations with Turkey. Following the fall of Morsi relations between Cairo and Ankara soured. Egypt recalled its ambassador from Ankara.

Turkey responded by adopting similar measures.

Turkey has been one of the few countries to openly describe the seizure of power by theEgyptian army as a military coup.

Despite the changed relations between the two countries someEgyptian people regard Turkey as their new home as Salma Ashraf does.

"I used to live in Turkey before so it was considered a second home for me" Ashraf said.

By Fatma Bulbul


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