“I am with the Uprising of Women in the Arab World,” says a sign that Marwa (from Tunisia) holds in front of her, “because women’s sexuality is considered as a [sic] Taboo, while Sexism, Pedophilia, and Rape are seen as commonsense.”
“I am with the uprising of women in the arab [sic] world,” says a sign that Yara (from Egypt) uses to partially cover her face, “because I’m 16 and I’ve been sexually harassed since I was 12. I feel like I lost part of my innocence just because I’m a girl in the arab world.”
These and other women (and men as well) are part of a Facebook campaign that four Arab women launched on Oct. 1 to garner “freedom, independence and security” for Arab women -- a campaign that’s attracted support (i.e., Facebook “likes”) from more than 67,000 people around the world to date, and that the Media East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI, recently brought to light.
“The supporters,” MEMRI writes, “express protest over the patriarchal character of Arab society and the attitudes that objectify women and regard them as servants of their husbands and families; over the oppression of women and discrimination against them, and over such phenomena as child marriages, sexual abuse and harassment, and female circumcision. It should be mentioned that among the supporters who have uploaded pictures are many men, who cited the same reasons.”
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