CAIRO: Egypt's ministry of health reported that at least four people were injured in sporadic clashes on Thursday near central Cairo's Tahrir Square as police and protesters clashed near the iconic square ahead of Friday's two-year anniversary of the January 25, 2011 uprising that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak from power. Egyptian protesters tore down a wall leading from central Cairo's Tahrir Square to the two houses of Parliament and begun clashing with police near the Shoura Council, or Upper House of Parliament. It came after small skirmishes between activists and police occurred earlier on Thursday on Qasr el-Aini street in downtown Cairo, spurring the military to erect yet another concrete barrier on the main thoroughfare. Riot police used tear gas in an effort to disperse the protesters near the parliament building. By evening, the military was already rebuilding the wall taken down by the activists. Medical teams and ambulances are now stationed outside the square as tension fills the air on the second anniversary of the revolution that ousted Mubarak. Many activists tell Bikyanews.com that the goals of the revolution have not been fulfilled and accused the Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohamed Morsi of usurping the ideas of the revolution to fit their own Islamic agenda. Women's groups will also be out in force on Friday to show their anger and frustration at what they dubbed the “Brotherhoodization” of the country and the destruction of women's rights and the future of Egypt. The women's organizations will gather at Sayeda Zeinab Mosque and Gazeera Club, with two marches heading to Tahrir Square, while another group will gather in Roxy Square and march to the presidential palace. The marches and much of the continued anger stems from late last year's clashes near the presidential palace when peaceful anti-President Mohamed Morsi protesters were attacked by Muslim Brotherhood supporters, leaving at least 7 people dead. Also on the minds of women in Egypt is the recently approved constitution, which many critics say will reduce women's rights in the country. Womens groups in Egypt rejected the constitutional draft and dubbed it “disastrous." It pushes women back at least a hundred years and puts critical issues into vague statements. BN
