President Obama to Egypt: "Assaulting women does not qualify as peaceful protest."

[bigtree]

Last edited Mon Jul 1, 2013, 05:16 PM - Edit history (1)

tweeted by, Zeke Miller ?@ZekeJMiller 2m

RT @EvanMcSan: Obama to protesters in Egypt: "Assaulting women does not qualify as peaceful protest."


Zeke Miller ?@ZekeJMiller 4m
Obama calls for "restraint" from both side in Egypt and raises alarm about assaults on women among protesting groups




petesouza ?@petesouza 22m
President Obama during news conference today at State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania pic.twitter.com/owVouW1Jdr

[leftstreet]

1. What's he referring to?

[arcane1]

4. I'm wondering the same thing.

I haven't kept up with the news enough, all I know is there are massive protests going on, I haven't heard anything about assaults. I can't say it would surprise me, though

[bigtree]

6. here

Female Foreign Journalist Gang-Raped in Horrific Tahrir Square Attack

http://jezebel.com/female-foreign-journalist-gang-raped-in-horrific-tahrir-633730926

[leftstreet]

13. I smell bullshit

This attack is truly devastating, and, sadly, it's hardly far from the norm. A report by the UN finds that over 99 percent of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault in their life. According to Ahram Online, Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment (an Egyptian women's group) reported forty-six separate sexual assaults during this round of anti-Morsi protests in Tahrir Square. On Sunday night, grassroots anti-harassment groups urged women to stay away from the area altogether: "The area is not safe and we recommend leaving, if possible," tweeted Tahrir Bodyguard. Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment reports that men armed with sticks were standing by the entrance to the Tahrir metro station, attacking women.

So it's those evil anti-Morsi protest people!

[bigtree]

14. I see what you did there

. . . dismissing the reports of the assaults on women as 'bullshit.'

All of that without one shred of corroboration other than your sense of smell. Amazing.

You're coming at this from the 'left,' you say?

[leftstreet]

16. Can you link to stats on rapes before the protests?

That would be helpful

It's hard to imagine millions of working class people in Egypt, no jobs, shit wages, no social services, no security, no future would unify against the elite, take to the streets, risk law enforcement reaction, and think 'oh wow let's rape!'

Give me a fucking break

[bigtree]

17. you have a problem with the reporting of these assaults

The president's admonition was a balanced one. He called for restraint and peaceful assembly on all sides - from all of the protesters and from the government forces, as well.

Do you believe we need to ignore these reports in order to support the assembly? I think that most folks can balance these concerns with much more prescience than you have here.

They aren't, for instance, a valid pretext for the threatened crackdown on the assembly by government forces.

[Brewinblue]

23. I agree to an extent.

I accept that 46 rapes have occurred during the protests. But I highly doubt that they were legitimate protesters.
More likely, the rapists were just thugs taking advantage of the chaos present in a crowd of 14 million people. Or, they are Morsi supporters stirring up shit. The Morsi government is clearly being disingenuous in condemning the rapists. Since when do radical Islamists have such a problem with men who rape women, it's the female victims they condemn.

[CakeGrrl]

15. Really?

And you know these rapes didn't occur...how?

[PoliticAverse]

2. Has he told the NYPD too ? n/t

[bigtree]

5. /

Last edited Mon Jul 1, 2013, 06:06 PM - Edit history (1)

tweeted by, V-Day ?@VDay 2m

Another female journalist gang-raped amid in Egypt protests. This must end! http://bit.ly/15bzRBk #reasontorise Retweeted by Josh Marshall

Female Foreign Journalist Gang-Raped in Horrific Tahrir Square Attack

Egyptian media are reporting that a Dutch journalist was raped by several men in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday. According to a post from Sunday on the Facebook page of Dina Zakaria, an Egyptian journalist, "her condition is severe and she is hospitalized." Ynetnews reports today that a state hospital issued a statement that the woman was admitted after being raped by five men. She has since undergone surgery and been released from the facility.

This attack is truly devastating, and, sadly, it's hardly far from the norm. A report by the UN finds that over 99 percent of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault in their life. According to Ahram Online, Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment (an Egyptian women's group) reported forty-six separate sexual assaults during this round of anti-Morsi protests in Tahrir Square. On Sunday night, grassroots anti-harassment groups urged women to stay away from the area altogether: "The area is not safe and we recommend leaving, if possible," tweeted Tahrir Bodyguard. Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment reports that men armed with sticks were standing by the entrance to the Tahrir metro station, attacking women.

Presidential spokesperson Ehab Fahmy held a press conference on Sunday in which he directly addressed the rampant sexual harassment and sexual violence that plague the protests. According to Daily News Egypt, Fahmy said that "any Egyptian condemns these shameful acts" and added that such vile behvaior was not characteristic of the Egyptian people.

He also stated that the presidency has taken action in order to bring the Dutch journalist's attackers to justice (although it is doubtful how effective these measures will be): "We informed the Ministry of the Interior to immediately take necessary measures and catch the assailants." According to the Huffington Post, Egypt's Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah sent staff to the hospital to take the woman's testimony.


read: http://jezebel.com/female-foreign-journalist-gang-raped-in-horrific-tahrir-633730926

[maddezmom]

7. Horrible

Thanks for the link.

[bigtree]

10. I shouldn't have assumed

. . . this was widely known.

[maddezmom]

11. I am familiar with the ongoing situation

Just hadn't seen this one yet.

[bigtree]

12. in my case

. . . as busy as I am, it took this chiding by the President to remind me of the prevalence of these assaults during their protests.

[ismnotwasm]

25. I think attention has been taken up with other issues

I appreciate your OP and posts.

[bunnies]

9. There have been forty-six separate sexual assaults during this round of protests in Tahrir Square

According to the link you were provided above. Strawman my ass.

[lumberjack_jeff]

18. In a protest of 14 million people?

Certainly 46 assaults is too many.

[bunnies]

20. on edit: We agree.

[lumberjack_jeff]

21. I'm self deleting because I think you're right. n/t

[bunnies]

22. I edited too.

[LittleBlue]

8. Why are they still sending women journalists to Egypt?

Seems like there is a gang rape every time some protest occurs.

This is at least the third I've read about.

[justiceischeap]

19. Why do women still have babies when doing so can kill them?

Because we can. It isn't the women's faults, so why should they stop doing their jobs because the men can't control themselves?

[oberliner]

24. Egypt should be off-limits to women journalists?

If they start raping male journalists then maybe they shouldn't go over there either?

[Pirate Smile]

26. Reports of this were all over the place on Twitter during the protests. A woman was hiding out in

the BBC's area. I kept seeing 35 reported and lots of the female reporters trying to get the hell out of there.

[markpkessinger]

27. How does he know the perpetrators are not agents of the government . . .

. . . acting agents provocateurs?