Egyptian Rights Activist: Things Better Under Mubarak

Egyptian rights activist Dalia Ziada talks about why things were better for women under Hosni Mubarak's regime.

Women are 'an integral part of Egyptian society' though they are suffering the most from the economic crisis which is getting worse every day in Egypt, said in an interview with ANSAmed Dalia Ziada, a human rights activist, blogger and the director of the Ibn Khaldum Center for Democratic Studies. Ziada is in Marseille to attend the Forum promoted by the Anna Lindh Foundation.

'Over 30% of women are 'caring women' like widows or divorcees who are working to support their families', said the activist. 'They work at a time when men are having a hard time finding a proper job'.

In the past, said Ziada, poor women benefited from measures supporting their businesses, which were sponsored by Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the president who was toppled in the January 25 revolution. Now 'they have no one sponsoring them', she said.

The activist, who was awarded a prize in 2010 by the Anna Lindh Foundation, told ANSAmed that 'it is sad to say that the situation for women was much better during the Mubarak era'. 'It was not the best possible but it was still better than today because there was a state which supported women's rights', she noted. 'Suzanne Mubarak was a women's rights activist before being the president's wife and a staunch supporter of new laws in favour of women', continued the activist. 'Now we have a regime which is very hostile to women, an extremist regime of the Muslim Brotherhood which doesn't like women, least of all in public life and the economy'. The regime is so hostile, the activist noted, that it accuses women of 'causing men's unemployment' based on the conviction that if they stayed home their jobs would go to men. 'However it's a problem of qualifications', noted Ziada, which has nothing to do with being women or men.

The rest here.

The Egyptians had a clean slate after they ousted Mubarak. There were plenty of non-Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidates running for office, but they overwhelmingly voted for Mohammed Morsi. They had a choice. They are now suffering the consequences.

2nd Arab Spring? Anti-Muslim Brotherhood Protests Turn Violent in Egypt

If the photo is any indication, there were thousands upon thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on the second anniversary of the Egyptian Arab Spring uprising. Last time around it was to protest President Hosni Mubarak and his regime, this time they were prostesting the Islamist they overwhelmingly voted for as president-  Mohammed Morsi. The people are so disenchanted, the protests have once again turned very violent with some 100 or so wounded, and at least seven dead. As a result, troops are being mobilized in the Suez Canal. Protesters have stormed buildings and even torched one of the Muslim Brotherhood's.

Egyptian protesters on Friday stormed the governorate headquarters in the canal city of Ismailiya and attempted to storm two other buildings elsewhere, witnesses said.

Protesters surrounded the governorate building in Damietta and in the Nile Delta city of Kafr el-Sheikh they stormed the courtyard of the governorate leading to clashes, witnesses told AFP.

Meanwhile, the headquarters of the political wing of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), was torched in Ismailiya east of Cairo, an official told Al Arabiya.

[snip]

The Muslim Brotherhood said protesters also attempted to storm one of its offices in the Cairo district of Tawfikiya.

[snip]

Demonstrators outside the state television building in Cairo blocked traffic as marches of tens of thousands of people swarmed the capital, and tear gas was also fired at protesters in second city Alexandria.

I don't blame them, they fought long and hard for freedom, but did they really expect anything good to come of voting in to power the Muslim Brotherhood? And did the MB think the people would sit still while the little freedom they did have under Mubarak erodes even further.

Is the  beginning of a second Arab Spring?

The Crisis In Egypt- A Path To Democracy or a Path To Destruction

It's not surprising that the situation in Egypt has escalated into violence. The whole region is volatile, and given the anger and resentment that so many Middle Easterners (particularly the disenfranchised youth) harbor towards everything from poverty and lack of jobs, to the West and the Palestinian/Israeli issue - did anyone really expect this to resolve itself peacefully? Factor in a president cum dictator who has ruled the country for 30 plus years doing what he needed to retain power, and Egypt was a disaster waiting to happen. Simply criticizing President Hosni Mubarak could land you in jail. Kareem Amer spent 3 plus years in prison for insulting President Hosni Mubarak along with some anti-religious commentary he posted on his blog.

Although he ranked in Parade Magazine's Top Ten Worst Dictators in 2009 he also happens to be a U.S. ally, pro-West, is one of the few friends Israel has in that region and has managed to keep Egypt as secular as one can get in that neck of the woods. Therein lies the problem.

Who will fill the void when Mubarak steps down, which is inevitable? The Muslim Brotherhood, although banned in Egypt, is still the largest opposition group in the country, and people are still ignorant enough to be drawn towards a group that will be itching to get into power once Mubarak is gone, and will also do anything to ensure that happens.  Will they then replace authoritarianism for islamism?

I fear for Egypt, and even more so for Israel if the Egyptians make the wrong choice.