Explore the remains of the revolution in Egypt; what is the aftermath of the revolution and its effect on women and girls? The following are recommendations set by our delegation from Egypt at the CSW. They include the elimination of sales of arms, cutting down on IMF loans, holding the government accountable both on supply and demand of arms:
“Since January 25th 2012, and as we speak, hundreds of Egyptians have been brutally murdered by the police and army and hundreds more are to be murdered. The way this is carried out is not just through live ammunition but also through pellets, rubber bullets, and tear gas suffocation.
A Glimpse of the Current Situation in Egypt
Hundreds have been killed by “non-lethal” crowd control weapons. Tens have lost their eyesight from such pellets. More than 12,000 civilians were trialled in front of military courts, many of which were women who were subject to virginity tests.
Ms. Azza Soliman, a well-known activist in Egypt, has had a fractured skull after her attempt to help a girl who was stripped naked by the army. Only a couple of months ago, in January 2013, twenty-two girls were subject to mob sexual assaults, four of whom needed medical intervention.
Right now hundreds of civilians are missing; we will never know whether they are dead or alive unless the regime and the army both decide to show some transparency. We are denied any information when it comes to the army’s budget.
For the past sixty years, Egypt had been suffering under military rule, murder, intimidation, imprisonment, torture, rape, theft, corruption and patriarchy. We, Egyptian women, are fighting to bring that to an end now.
What Needs to Happen
We must ensure the elimination of sales of all arms including the so-called ‘non-lethal’ weapons to any country that violates human rights.
We must stop the IMF loans and any loans being negotiated with the ‘illegitimate’ Egyptian government.
We must support a criterion on preventing gender-based violence in the March 2013 Arms Trade Treaty negotiation.
Finally, we must insist on government accountability in all arms trade both on the supply and the demand as much as we hold states accountable to promises they have made in the United Nations as member states.”
