Aliaa Maghda El-Mahdy, a 20-year-old dissident from Cairo, describes herself as a secular liberal feminist vegetarian
individualist Egyptian. A college student, an atheist, and a blogger. Her latest act of political rebellion has set off a firestorm in Egypt and in the Twitterverse of Arab dissidents. In one of the nude self-portraits she posted this week on her
blog, A Rebels Diary , which has received more than a million page views, she faces the camera wearing just a red ribbon in her hair,
thigh-high tights, and red ballet flats.
I took my nude photo myself in my parents' home, she writes. The same photo appears on her blog a second time, now with a yellow rectangle covering her crotch. The yellow rectangles on my eyes,
mouth and sex organ resemble the censoring of our knowledge, expression and sexuality, she writes.
Mahdy's rebellious act 'shocked' a whole range of people in Egypt, from devout Muslims to members of the youth movement. According to the
website cyberdissidents.org, she has received thousands of threatening comments since the publication of the nude photos, the purpose of which was challenging her community to restrict her freedom.
Mahdy doesn't care. I have the
right to live freely in any place, she writes on her blog. She is using all the weapons in her arsenal to protest a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy. A staunch critic of Islamic extremism and the puritanical
censorship that accompanies it, she is advocating a freedom revolution in Egypt, just as the pro-freedom forces of the Arab Spring are being overwhelmed by staunch Islamists.
Support from Council of Ex-Muslims of
Britain
See article from ex-muslim.org.uk
|
People of Egypt: No Sex, No Voice, No Views |
Student, atheist and blogger, Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, 20, posted naked pictures of herself on her blog to show her screams against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy . Showing her body particularly at a time
when Islamists in Egypt are trying to secure power is the ultimate act of rebellion. Don't forget Islamists despise nothing more than a woman's body. In case you didn't know, women are the source of corruption and chaos and must be covered up at all
times and not seen and not heard.
The Islamists in Egypt, for example, have replaced the photos of their female candidates with flowers and covered up a statue of mermaids in Alexandria. They have refused to appear face-to-face with female TV
hosts, unless the presenter put on a headscarf or a barrier was placed between the two!
Elmahdy's blogger boyfriend Kareem Amer (who by the way spent four years in jail for calling Mubarak a symbol of tyranny) posted on Facebook: I think we
should not be afraid of those in power or Islamists, as much as we should be worried of politicians claiming to be liberal. They are ready to sacrifice us to avoid tarnishing their image.
Now do you really need any more reasons for defending
Aliaa Magda Elmahdy unconditionally?
Do it now. Tweet with hashtag #NudePhotoRevolutionary, support her Facebook page, and A
Rebels Diary . If you haven't done so, you should sign the Manifesto for a Free and Secular Middle East
and North Africa . Secularism, the separation of religion from the state, is a precondition for minimum freedoms and rights for all.
Support from Israeli women
See
article from theblaze.com
Forty Israeli women posed discreetly nude in support of a young female Egyptian blogger who drew criticism and threats for posting a naked photo of herself to protest against the limits of free speech in her country. The organizer of the Israeli
event says she wanted to show support for women like Egyptian activist Aliaa Elmahdy, and show the world a good reason to see the unique beauty of Israeli women. Or Tepler explained to YNet News:
Regardless of
whether they are Jewish, Arab, straight or Lesbian -- because here, as of now, it doesn't matter. ... Let us show the doubters that our international discourse doesn't depend on governments,
Tepler organized the event on Facebook. The
participants were photographed holding a sign saying Love without Limits, and Homage to Aliaa Elmahdi. Sisters in Israel.