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The Square

By Te'ier Langford

The Tahrir Square protest was a monumental movement which began in January 2011. This protest was an important contribution to the Arab Spring because it was one of the biggest protests in history and within that wave of movements. It persisted for eighteen days and was a powerful demonstration to rebel against their former president, Hosni Mubarak. Amongst the thirty to fourty millions of protesters, they demanded political change, economic renewal, and democracy throughout Egypt. These activists occupied the space from Tahrir Square to Cairo, Egypt, which is very extensive when taking a glance at a map. The activists and other protesters fought back by expressing themselves through banners, songs, videos, interviews, and by other uses of the media as well. Many women came to Tahrir Square to call out injustice against women and the press for equality. However, not everyone in Tahrir Square was there for the right reasons. (1) On January 25, 2011, a riot broke out and over eighty women were sexually assault throughout the chaos. In fact, many women have report instances of sexual assault and abuse in Tahrir Square, but nothing was put into effect to stop the increasing number of victims. The call for change turned into tragedy and the protester who came to the Square to fight for equality were set back once again.

Overview

Speces occupied:

  • Tahrir Square, Tunisia, Egypt, Cairo

Expression:

  • Graffiti, art, songs, social media, self- immolation, videos, interviews

Participants: 30 to 40 million

Politics: On January 25th, nineteen women were raped during the riot of the Tahrir Square protest; One of the vicims were brutally stabbed in the vagina. Every year that there is a protest in Tahrir Square, there is a sexual assault reported. However, there are not systems put in place to protect them or defend them in a court of law. 

(1) Morgan, Marwa. "Public Sexual Assault: Why Don’t People Intervene?" Daily News Egypt. June 17, 2014. Accessed December 5, 2017. https://dailynewsegypt.com/2014/06/17/public-sexual-assault-dont-people-intervene/.

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