CAIRO: Thousands of Egyptian women marched through downtown Cairo on Tuesday in protest against the violence perpetrated against them by the country's military. The military, in an apparent attempt to appease protesters and women alike, issued a statement saying they felt “great regret” at the violence toward female protesters in Egypt over the past five days. However, female activists said expressing “regret” was not an apology, and further condemned the questioning of why women were even on the streets by a military spokesman on Monday. “If that is considered an apology, then they can go to hell,” said one female protester. Yasmin Mahmoud, a 20-year-old Cairo University student, told Bikyamasr.com on Wednesday that the violence perpetrated to women was “the worst I have ever seen or heard of in this country. It was despicable,” she argued, adding that she has participated in all protests since the January uprising began earlier this year. “What we saw was violence from the military against civilians, brutality unlike anything we have seen, and then they go and tell a story and basically question the morality of women in this country. That is where we are heading,” she added. In the SCAF statement, it reaffirmed “respect and appreciation for Egyptian women” and their right to protest as well as their active participation in the political life on the road to democratic transition. SCAF “promised it was taking legal measures to punish those responsible for violations,” the statement added. The outrage toward the military picked up steam after a video went viral across Egyptian social networks, showing a veiled woman attacked by soldiers, who ripped her dress off to reveal a blue bra. The scene galvanized protesters in their continued efforts to force the military out of its ruling of the country, but the armed forces responded with more violence, killing at least 14 people and injuring over 700 in clashes that began on Friday. Although Cairo has returned a somewhat calm state on Wednesday, the walls erected across downtown show that the end of the uprising that began in January continues. Women like Mahmoud believe it is time to mobilize and show the military they cannot “attack and torture civilians for standing up for their rights.” She added that “the past few days has shown us that the military will never support real change and they want to maintain their power, by their guns and their sticks.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/1SnI8 Tags: featured, Occupy Cabinet, Protests, SCAF, Tahrir Section: Egypt, Latest News, Women
