CAIRO: For some women in Egypt, the revolution was truly a turning point. After chanting in Tahrir Square, blogging online and organizing meetings via Facebook, they began to feel they were becoming an integral part of society. For Omnia Mohammed, a young graduate of Ain Shams University, the revolution meant becoming a real citizen. Now, her favorite possession is a t-shirt that says, “I love Egypt," as she feels proud to live in a more open and democratic society. When asked about the negative aspects of the revolution, such as the recent sexual harassment and violence against women, Mohammed briefly pauses and says that some people may be “translating the word ‘freedom' in their own way, without respecting other's freedoms." She adds that she sympathizes with the violated women, but is “sure that things will get better soon." To her, this is a necessary stage of a newly liberated society, where people do not yet know how to handle the “amazing increase in social freedoms." Mohammed herself has not experienced an increased amount of harassment. In fact, the harassment might be less since she feels “brave" and empowered to stand up for herself on the street, she told Bikyamasr.com However, post-revolution life has not been so kind to scores of other women. A researcher from the Nazra Center for Feminist Studies talked about women's lives after the revolution. She pointed to the testimonies of women who were violated near Tahrir Square on June 6. One of them read: “We were five, three girls and two guys, and we were walking in the square among the crowd and I thought it would be safe. But it wasn't. Suddenly it got more crowded around us … and men started touching us all over the body … I kept looking for my friend and I couldn't see her anymore, it was as if I was in high sea and all the waves were just tossing me all over the place." The researcher, who preferred to stay unnamed, added that she believes these attacks on women are “calculated and organized so as to scare women away from the public sphere, to punish women for their participation, and to keep them at home." Hoda Badran, the head of the Egyptian Feminist Union, voiced a similar opinion in an interview with the Washington Post, asserting cynically that “at the time of the revolution, women were needed to fill out the numbers. Now, the decision-makers don't need women, and we're back to this idea that femininity is inferior and masculinity superior." Surprisingly, the increase in sexual violence or regression of political freedoms is not a priority for regular Egyptian women. Mohammed asked why the discussion was not about the changes in economic opportunities for women. “Finding a job", she notes, “is what's on [her] mind every day." And although she has not been able to find employment just yet, she remains optimistic and believes that “the amount of favoritism towards men is much less in the job industry." For Emy Esaen, who recently graduated from the faculty of science of Zagazig University, the story is quite different. Emy feels betrayed by the revolution she used to be a part of, stating that nothing has changed in terms of job prospects. Even though she graduated at the top of her class, she is still struggling to find a job. Employers do not want to hire women because “they are afraid that women will get married, have children and leave the workforce," she told Bikyamasr.com. A recent Gallup study echoes the fears of Esaen and Mohammed, arguing that “Egyptian women and men similarly believe that economic issues are the most important problems facing their families." Although the government tries to assure women that their economic and social rights will be safeguarded, many doubt the truth of these words. After all, the revolution cannot alter the fundamentally patriarchal infrastructure of the Egyptian society overnight.
