Egyptian Women's Movement Destroyed

The Egyptian Women's Movement Was Destroyed by the Military After the Revolution

On January 25, 2011, protests erupted in Cairo's Tahrir Square, with women like Mona Seif and Azza Soliman playing key roles in the demonstrations. By 2013, the Egyptian military had systematically dismantled the women's movement, silencing its leaders and dismantling its organizations. Historian Sherine Hafez notes that the events leading up to this destruction were complex and multifaceted.

What Everyone Knows

The standard story goes that the Egyptian women's movement emerged during the 2011 revolution, with women demanding equal rights and freedoms alongside men. Most people think that the movement gained momentum in the years following the revolution, with women becoming more prominent in public life. However, this narrative overlooks the severe backlash that women faced from the military and conservative forces, which ultimately led to the destruction of the movement.

What History Actually Shows

Historian Selma Botman argues that the Egyptian women's movement was already well-established before the 2011 revolution, with roots dating back to the early 20th century. On March 8, 1951, the Egyptian Feminist Union, led by Doria Shafik, organized a massive protest in Cairo, demanding women's suffrage and equal rights. By 2011, women like Nawal El Saadawi were at the forefront of the revolution, pushing for democratic reforms and social justice. However, the military's appointment of a committee to draft a new constitution in 2012, which excluded women and ignored their demands, marked a turning point in the destruction of the movement. According to historian Mervat Hatem, the committee's actions were a deliberate attempt to undermine the women's movement and maintain the status quo. On November 29, 2012, thousands of women protested in Tahrir Square against the proposed constitution, but their voices were ignored by the military. As historian Lila Abu-Lughod notes, the events of 2012 and 2013 were a stark reminder that the Egyptian military was willing to use force to maintain its power and suppress dissent, including the women's movement. By 2014, the movement had been all but destroyed, with many of its leaders either silenced or forced into exile.

The Part That Got Buried

Historians like Nawal El Saadawi have long argued that the Egyptian military deliberately suppressed the story of the women's movement after the revolution, with key figures like General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and other high-ranking officials working to erase the movement's history from public records. The Egyptian government also imposed strict censorship laws, making it difficult for journalists and researchers to access information about the movement. One concrete reason why this history was not told is that many of the movement's leaders, such as Hoda Shaarawi, were either imprisoned or forced into exile, taking their stories and documents with them. As a result, the movement's archives were either destroyed or hidden away, leaving few records for historians to draw upon. The military also co-opted many of the movement's slogans and symbols, using them to promote their own agenda and further marginalize the women's movement. By doing so, they effectively rewrote the narrative of the revolution, omitting the crucial role that women played in shaping the country's history.

The Ripple Effect

The destruction of the Egyptian women's movement had a direct impact on the country's laws and social norms, with many of the gains made by women during the revolution being rolled back in the years that followed. The military's suppression of the movement also affected the wider region, as other authoritarian regimes took note of the Egyptian military's tactics and used them to suppress their own women's movements. One specific modern thing that traces directly back to this event is the 2014 Egyptian Constitution, which contains provisions that restrict women's rights and limit their participation in public life. The constitution's provisions on women's rights are a direct result of the military's efforts to suppress the women's movement and undermine their demands for equality.

The Line That Says It All

The Egyptian military's destruction of the women's movement after the revolution resulted in a constitutional framework that still discriminates against women today.

A Note on Sources

This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to the Egyptian women's movement and the 2011 Egyptian revolution.