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Tahrir Square Got Dark Secrets

December 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Now that the elections in Egypt are over, we can look back at the symbol of the popular uprising that started that whole Arab Spring thing, Tahrir Square. While there are probably many who have fond memories of the place, a couple of women have very bad ones, starting with Lara Logan that was nearly murdered at the same place as people were celebrating the departure of the former president of Egypt.

This country is so big and its population so massive that the square in Cairo is a microcosms of it, and while some crazy fanatics try to rape and butcher a woman in one corner others celebrate what they think is the the beginning of democracy in the country. However now we see that Egypt is much closer to the raping and murdering corner than it is to a democracy and equality, not to say that all Egyptians behave like this towards women but there is a clear problem here.

So it was of no surprise that French journalist Caroline Sinz was attacked in the same way Logan was, and nearly killed on the same spot. The only conclusion Western media had to draw from this was that the current ambiance in Egypt is not one that would accept a woman in any role, and that right now it is best to be a Muslim man in this country, well played.

Blogger Aliaa Magda El Mahdy saw this coming a mile away, and protested before she could be placed in prison for all kind of religious accusations, but she did not anticipate the reaction of the crowds to her actions, very much like everyone else she thought that the radicalism is concentrated in the heart of the religious establishment, but she faced a different reality when confronted with supporters of those religious forces in Tahrir Square, where she was beaten by an angry crowd and made to leave for fear of her life.

As we wait to see how the struggle of forces in Egypt begins, with religious parties winning 65% of the votes (we got to wonder how many women voters participated in this election) it looks like the country is heading into a full blown Sharia law state, however the country faces such difficulties that it would not matter much if the ruling party would have been secular or religious, its of vital importance that someone starts making solid decisions in Egypt.

Filed Under: Egypt Tagged With: Aliaa Magda El-Mahdy, Caroline Sinz, Egypt, egypt women beating, Lara Logan, tahrir quare women beating

Aliaa Magda El Mahdy’s Art as a Prophecy

November 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Was the nude photos that sparked such heated debate in Egypt an act of prophecy?, probably not, but they seem like they appeared at the right moment, seconds before the Egyptian government caves under public pressure and the religious fanatics have a glorious moment of forcing the current leaders of the country to rethink the idea of a secular state.

The provocative move made by El Mahdy was the first cry in the fight for keeping Egypt a secular non religious society in which the governing body keeps it well apart from the religion that is not helping any country progress, much like in Turkey – before the current president took over everything and destroyed Ataturk’s vision of a religion free Turkey.

Those simple, black and white photos, with touches of red in them, seem so harmless that one can be easily tempted to think that they were a part of a student project, or some recreated photos from the past, however they were a wake up call to many around the world, showing just how far Egypt is on many subjects and how easily it could crash into the religious middle ages once again.

Now it seems that keeping Egypt out of religion’s hands is not going to happen, it looks like many of those early revolutionaries in Tahrir square are now living a nightmare, a very dark night is falling.

Are the nude photos a prophecy?

Filed Under: Egypt Tagged With: Aliaa Magda El-Mahdy, Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, Egypt

Aliaa Magda El Mahdy Tells Her Story

November 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Aliaa Magda el Mahdy - Seeking Freedom

It looks like Aliaa Magda el Mahdy is more than just a pretty face, and probably not the Facebook fan enthusiast some wanted us to believe she is. In an interview to CNN she answers questions about the why and how of her nude photos story, and if you read carefully you will identify just what every free person in this world wants, simple basic freedoms.

The freedom to create art and show it, and the freedom to ignore that art, the freedom to have sex with someone you love and the freedom to choose for yourself. The answer regarding sex and the sexual behavior of Egyptians (in her view) is very compelling, and is probably one of the best descriptions of how sex is perceived in the Muslim Arab world and how crippling this must for many freedom loving people out there.

With the growing rumors as to the “punishment” awaiting her, Aliaa is slowly getting more credit in this blog, she cut short that long wait for the things she wished for and in a brave way put herself on the line, now we need to see how far back in time is Egypt and how it would react to this very small demonstration of artistic freedom.

Here is some of the interview (the rest is on this link)

CNN: Why did you post a photo of yourself nude photo on Twitter, and why the red high heels and black stockings?

Elmahdy: After my photo was removed from Facebook, a male friend of mine asked me if he may post it on Twitter. I accepted because I am not shy of being a woman in a society where women are nothing but sex objects harassed on a daily basis by men who know nothing about sex or the importance of a woman.

The photo is an expression of my being and I see the human body as the best artistic representation of that. I took the photo myself using a timer on my personal camera. The powerful colors black and red inspire me.

CNN: Who is Aliaa Elmahdy inside the body portrayed in the nude photo?

Elmahdy: I like being different. I love life, art, photography and expressing my thoughts through writing more than anything. That is why I studied media and hope to take it further to the TV world too so I can expose the truth behind the lies we endure everyday in this world. I don’t believe that we must have children only through marriage. It’s all about love.

CNN: How have your Egyptian Muslim parents reacted? How do they feel about you living with your boyfriend unmarried?

Elmahdy: I last spoke to them 24 days back. They want to support me and get closer, especially after the photo was released, but they accuse Kareem of manipulating me. He has been my support system and has passed along their text messages to me. I dropped out of AUC (The American University in Cairo where she was a media student) months back after (my parents) attempted to control my life by threatening not to pay the fees.

Filed Under: Egypt Tagged With: Aliaa Magda el Mahdy blog, Aliaa Magda el Mahdy interview, Aliaa Magda el Mahdy photos, Aliaa Magda El-Mahdy

The Sad Case of Egyptian Self Expression

November 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Pornography is a matter of geography is a sentence to explain that social and cultural ideas are limited to geographical areas, however the news of today are not about pornography but art, or at least someone perception of it, and the freedom of expressing oneself.

Aliaa Magda El-Mahdy, an Egyptian young woman, posted a nude photo of herself to her Facebook page, in what some think is a desperate cry for attnetion over the closing fate of the popular revolution that took place in the country a couple of months ago and some believe is just a desperate attempt at self promotion.

These nude photos are not porn, that is for sure, the question on how “arty” they are is not something this blog can handle, simply because art is defined in many cases by just its creator. And the reaction? well, expected as hell, there are no surprises when it comes to the Arab world (in this case Egypt, but lets be honest here it can be any Arab-Muslim country).

So Egypt is outraged at this, one young lady “art” photos, when this country isĀ  on the brink of disaster, internal serious issues and financial difficulties, however the body of a young female just turns everything around, very much like the storm of anger and protest against Israel, it seems that its incredibly easy to divert the Egyptian attention but simply waving Israel and naked females around.

And so sadly, that is exactly what the secular leaders of the revolution wanted out, they wanted a free and democratic state, with liberal rules and ideas and tolerance for different ideas and expressions, and this, unfortunately, looks like is very far from what Egypt is turning out to be.

Outrage over Nudes? Give me a break

Filed Under: Egypt Tagged With: Aliaa Magda El-Mahdy, Arab Spring, Egypt revolution, nude art, nude photos