Amnesty International has today called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate serious allegations of torture, including forced ‘virginity tests’, inflicted by the army on women protesters arrested in Tahrir Square earlier this month. After army officers violently cleared the square of protesters on 9 March, at least 18 women were held in military detention. Amnesty International has been told by women protesters that they were beaten, given electric shocks, subjected to strip searches while being photographed by male soldiers, then forced to submit to ‘virginity checks’ and threatened with prostitution charges. ‘Virginity tests’ are a form of torture when they are forced or coerced. "Forcing women to have ‘virginity tests’ is utterly unacceptable. Its purpose is to degrade women because they are women," said Amnesty International. "All members of the medical profession must refuse to take part in such so-called 'tests'."
Obligatory gynecological exams aimed at shaming women for being sexually active and forcing them to hate the fact of having been born female are something that, unfortunately, I know very well firsthand. In the Soviet Union, we were subjected to forced gynecological exams since the age of 11 or twelve. Often, people conducting such tests on pre-teen girls were young male students of med schools. You can imagine how traumatic it is to be pawed and ogled by twenty-year-old men when you are at that age.
Later on, if one was getting a college education while being female, one was forced to undergo gynecological exams in order to be allowed to continue as a student. Such exams were extremely invasive and often resulted in women being shamed for being sexually active. Sometimes, spurious medical diagnoses were invented and women were obligated to go through painful and completely unnecessary medical procedures to get "cured" from illnesses they never had.
Forced gynecological procedures are one of the most popular methods used by repressive regimes to coerce and terrorize women. It horrifies me that this is now happening to the women of Egypt.
18 comments:
I knew you could not stay silent on this.
This story saddens me to no ends.
I have been thinking the following recently:
Victims of rape, virginity checks, and other forms of violence against women may feel degraded, but the only morally degraded individuals are the rapists. Patriarchal societies hope to control women, but virginity tests and rape rather indicate that patriarchy "fails" at controlling women, showing its flaws and impotence.
Ol.
The subject doesn't bring back good memories. What's even sadder than the whole experience, though, is that if you talk to my compatriots about this, most of them will start defending the practice. "It's no big deal," is what one hears the most about the subject.
This is why I don't even mention it any more. I'm kind of expecting a flurry of discussion of this post among my compatriots as to how I;m "exaggerating."
Well, at least Amnesty International recognizes this as what it is - a form of torture.
thank you for this post -is there a place we can read what western feminists can do to protest this?
I have no idea at this point because I just heard about this atrocity. But I'll look into it.
EMBASSY OF THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT
CHANCERY
3521 International Ct. Nw Washington DC 20008
TEL: 202.895.5400
FAX: 202.244.4319
202.244.5131
Email: Embassy@egyptembassy.net
CONSULAR SECTION
TEL: 202.966.6342
FAX: 202.244.4319
Email: Consulate@egyptembassy.net
MEDICAL OFFICE
TEL:202.296.5286
FAX: 202.296.5288
AGRICULTURAL OFFICE
TEL: 202.966.2080
FAX: 202.895.5493
DEFENSE OFFICE
2590 L. St. Washington DC 20037
TEL: 202.333.1283
FAX: 202.333.7240
PROCUREMENT OFFICE
5500 16th St. Nw Washington DC 20011
TEL: 202.726.8006
FAX: 202.829.4909 202.829.5530
CULTURAL & EDUCATIONAL OFFICE
1303 New Hampshire Ave., Nw Washington DC 20036
EMAIL: ECEB@ECEB.US
TEL: 202.296.3888
FAX: 202.296.3891
PRESS & INFORMATION OFFICE
1666 Connecticut Ave. Nw Suite 400 Washington DC 20009
TEL: 202.667.3402
FAX: 202.234.6827
ECONOMIC & COMMERCIAL OFFICE
2232 Massachusetts Ave. Nw Washington DC 20008
TEL: 202.265.9111
FAX: 202.328.4517
OTHER EGYPTIAN MISSIONS IN THE UNITED STATES
EGYPTIAN MISSION TO THE UN
304 East 44th St. New York, NY 10017
TEL: 212.503.0300
FAX: 212.949.5999
CONSULATE GENERAL OF A.R.E. IN NEW YORK
1110 Second Ave. – Suite 201 New York, NY 10022
EMAIL: EGYPTEG@AOL.COM
TEL: 212.759.7120
FAX: 212.308.7643
PRESS OFFICE IN NEW YORK
TEL: 212.503.0342
ECONOMIC & COMMERCIAL OFFICE IN NEW YORK
10 Rockefeller Plaza Suite 2305 New York, NY 10111
EMAIL: INFO@EGYPTTOURISM.ORG
WEBSITE: http://www.egyttourism.org/
TEL: 212.332.2570 FAX: 212.956.6439
CONSULATE GENERAL OF A.R.E IN CHICAGO
500 N. Michigan Ave. – Suite 1900 Chicago, IL 60611
WEBSITE : http://www.eg2002.net/
TEL : 312.828.9162
FAX: 312.828.9167
CONSULATE GENERAL OF A.R.E. IN SAN FRANCISCO
3001 Pacific Ave. San Francisco, CA 94115
EMAIL: EGYPT@EGY2000.COM
WEBSITE: http://www.egy2000.com/
TEL: 415.346.9700- 415.346.9702
FAX: 415.346.7352 - 415.346.9480
COMMERCIAL OFFICE IN SAN FRANCISCO
1255 Post Street – Suite 910 San Francisco, CA 94109
TEL: 415.771.1995
FAX: 415.771.1293
PRESS & INFORMATION OFFICE IN SAN FRANCISCO
1255 Post Street – Suite 1034 San Francisco, CA 94109
TEL: 415.346.3427
FAX: 415.346.3420
HOUSTON CONSULATE OFFICE
1990 Post Oak Blvd. – Suite 2180 Houston, TX 77056
TEL: 713.961.4915
FAX: 713.961.3868
Wow! Great job on the info. Thank you!
No unfortunately not a great job but a start. The info is old and convoluted. They list websites they are trying to promote but who are not really connected to the embassy and some of the embassy info has changed BUT it is how organizers start. So pick the targets you will send your protest to; verify that the info is correct; and fire -- Then blog it and send what you have done to a sister and ask her to do the same. We should also be posting requess for official protests on Hillary Clintons's blog at State Thank You.
Hillary's blog at State
http://blogs.state.gov/sgwi/
FEMINIST SHOULD GO TO THE STATE DEPT BLOG AND ASK FOR A FORMAL PROTEST
Sample letter
TO: Hillary Clinton
REQUEST FOR A FORMAL PROTEST OF VIRGINITY TESTS IN EGYPT
This letter is written to request the US Dept of State formally protest the forced virginity tests of women in Egypt.
Amnesty International has today called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate serious allegations of torture, including forced ‘virginity tests’, inflicted by the army on women protesters arrested in Tahrir Square earlier this month. Arrested female demonstrators were tortured with shocks, subjected to strip searches while being photographed by male soldiers, then forced to submit to ‘virginity checks’ and threatened with prostitution charges.
‘Virginity tests’ are a form of torture when they are forced or coerced.
It is important that the US act now while the new government is forming in Egypt to insure that women's rights are elevated, especially in all aspects of the legal system. State should ask that all women army units be formed inside the Egyptian army. These female units should be trained and armed. They should have jurisdiction over all females immediately at the scene of arrest and throughout their custody within the Egyptian legal system. Female officers should act as protectors, counselors, and guardians, especially in domestic disputes. Volunteer US female army trainers and military police are available facilitate the implementation of this project.
I don't think that the problem lies with the gender of arresting officers. The practice is barbaric no matter who conducts is. So I'd throw out the last paragraph of the sample letter.
You are unfamiliar with organizing tactics for Muslim women. Many things have to be done differently. The most effective organizing to reduce violence against women is done with sex segregated women who are easily given jurisdiction over women's issues. The problem is with the males and it will take generations of evolution to work out their attitudes and behavior.Females need protection, equal justice and role models. The shelters need defenders, not rapists. It is happening with success all over the world. Go to this link and look around.
http://www.huntalternatives.org/pages/7689_security_sector.cfm
But you are definitely right that the male's attitudes should not be ignored. I should ask that the males receive gender rights training with human rights training. I will add that sentence. Thank You!
"Females need protection. . . and role models" is a very infantilizing statement. Are men in any lesser need of role models? Ones who would teach them to treat women with respect, for example?
You do need protection from a male supremacist misogynist legal system. And you are glad to get it.
This is the new paragraph
--The State Dept. should ask that soldiers and police receive human rights training emphasizing women's rights. The US State Dept should fund said training and make receipt of foreign aid dependent on human rights training and performance.
State should also make foreign aid contingent on the formation of all women army units inside the Egyptian army and also in all Egyptian police departments. These female units should be trained and armed. They should have jurisdiction over all females immediately, at the scene of a woman's arrest and throughout women's custody within the Egyptian legal system. Female officers should act as protectors, counselors, and guardians, especially in domestic disputes.
Volunteer US female army trainers and military police are available to facilitate the implementation of this project. The Institute for Inclusive Security is also available.
I finally found out how to get the letter tothe right place at State:
To contact the Office of Global Women’s Issues, send an email to:
sgwipublic@state.gov.
Oh, that's super helpful. I've been looking for this for the past hour.
THANKS!!!!!
Thank YOU for caring aboutthis.
I'm placing this in the Activism section too so that more people can take action.
Post a Comment