Photo: Women attend a demonstration in Deraa on April 15. Credit: Associated Press
Posted on 04/22/2011 3:10:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
"We went down in solidarity with them... I saw the invitation on the Internet. Security forces were beating the girls because they were holding up photos and they were refusing to take them down ... so I came to help them out of the hands of the security, and they took me with them."
Badawie, arrested along with 33 others, was hauled into a bus and driven to a detention facility, where she shared a cell with 10 other demonstrators...
"We tried to reach a conclusion from the statements carried on state television," she said. "We took the news and flipped it to try to figure out what was going on. But we knew there were casualties because they were portraying weapons."
The current street protests in Syria differ from those that took place when Badawie was a leftist activist in the 1980s. She spent four years in prison during her 20s. Today's demonstrations are not organized but spontaneous in nature and erupt from out of nowhere, Badawie said....
"There is this new generation who refuses to live in this old system and that wants a system that fits with their level of education and the communications age," she said. "They want a modern system -- not a system that is a relic of the Cold War. I'm optimistic but scared at the same time. I'm optimistic because the country will not be the same again. But at the same time I'm scared that there will be a lot of bloodshed... I'm not sure if we arrrived at the point of no return yet," she said. "But of course there is 'no return' because Syria can't go back to what it was like before."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
Photo: Women attend a demonstration in Deraa on April 15. Credit: Associated Press
Women at an anti-government demonstration in Sana'a, Yemen. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters
Guardian UK -- Xan Rice in Benghazi, Katherine Marsh in Damascus, Tom Finn in Sana'a, Harriet Sherwood in Tripoli, Angelique Chrisafis and Robert Booth
But elsewhere, women are adamant: this revolution was about regimes, not gender. "Men and women, we are all working for the same thing in this revolution," said Mervet el-Zuki, a Benghazi resident. "We want to be able to speak our minds, to be ourselves, to be Libyans. We want freedom in all sectors: psychologically, socially, economically. We want a happy ending, to be rid of this maniac family that controlled everything we did."
Bahraini Noor Jilal added: "Women are not calling for their own rights but those of everyone."
But Faizah Sulimani, 29, a protest leader in Yemen, hints that even though they are not calling for equality, women in Yemen have found themselves being taken much more seriously by men because of the impressive way they have contributed to the protest movement.
"Our demands are somehow similar to men, starting with freedom, equal citizenship, and giving women a greater role in society," she says. "Women smell freedom at Change Square where they feel more welcomed than ever before. Their fellow [male] freedom fighters are showing unconventional acceptance to their participation and they are actually for the first time letting women be, and say, what they really want."
Yeah, this is real.
Very Real!
Those women can pack a lot of lead underneath those barkas.
The troops can pump in even more.
Very jihadist. Very “burn the girls’ school down and shoot the instructors”.
Well said.
Sounds like there is some degree of organization, maybe not as organized as Badawie likes to think when comparing to 1980’s. Because others will be. Also, Bashar, despite being a dictator & his alliance of convenience w/ IRI, is still a secularist.
Actually, not much has changed since the 80’s. Back then the Khomeinist revolution in Iran, aided by the left against so-called “western imperialism”, awakened the pro- Islamist sentiments & movements. This time it seems the protesters have been emboldened by recent events in Tunisia, Egypt & the bombing of Libya.
Some 31 yrs ago in Iran, they were making same noises (democracy & freedom). They too thought the system was ‘outdated’. Millions of Iranian women, from all walks of life, actively participated in the ‘revolution’ too. Back then, in Iran at least, it seemed that the unrest was spontaneous, was taking place continually, but in pockets. It wasn’t until much later that it became known the unrest & subsequent revolution had been planned, by certain grps, for at least 7 yrs prior to reaching its height.
I’m very skeptical of these protests. The situation is very complicated & varies depending on the country in that region. No doubt some, as they did in Iran, genuinely want to see democracy & freedom. Tho, in that region, democracy & freedom are culturally dependent, same goes for ‘women’s rights’. You can’t change the culture quickly or easily; it'll be an ongoing process, not a revolutionary event. They won’t be seeing that for at least a couple of decades, if ever, and would very much depend on who & what takes the place of the current regime. Good luck to them.
The Iranians suckered the Syrian dynasty, and now they are paying the price. The difference between the Asad dynasty and other Muzzie despotates is its complete indifference to what any nation or alleged journalist has to say about it — and both the media shills and any archaeologist wishing to work in that hell-hole of a country pipe down at the first dirty look from the big boss.
However, now they have no one to help them. They’ve been at odds (sorry) with the Turks for decades, have been behind untold misery in post-Saddam Iraq, backed the US in the Gulf War against Saddam’s Iraq, supported Iran in the Iran-Iraq war, supported the attempt by Arafat to overthrow the Hashemite dynasty in Jordan (sent tanks over the border, Israel scrambled planes and buzzed ‘em, and they turned tail), invaded and occupied (and looted) Lebanon after the PLO started the civil war there and the Iranian proxies flooded in, and has fought a few short wars with Israel, and has no diplomatic relationship with or recognition of Israel. Its only other neighbor is Cyprus, which is divided, and Syria’s shifted its position away from Greek Cyprus (a little bit) and toward the TRNC.
The Kurds are the only other neighbors, and Syria’s been just as ruthless against them as any of the other foreign occupiers of Kurdistan.
You mean Asad (Syria)? I'd say the same goes for the Muzzie despots in Iran. Tho, IRI is much more savvy in manipulating western or domestic media, and has the means to do so. Besides, IRI continues to have its tentacles over in many countries, at different levels & in many different areas, outside of the ME/N.Africa region. So, I'd say Syrian despots, compared to IRI, are small fish. Would even confidently suggest that, compared to most other ME/N.African countries, IRI has more sophisticated capability in intelligence gathering, infiltration & influence on a global level.
I agree w/ your second & third paragraph. Particularly regarding their dislike of Saddam's "Baathist" regime, hence their support for Iran during Iraq-Iran war, as well as backing the US in the Gulf War against Saddam. Their dislike of the Kurds matches that of IRI. Syrian & IRI interests have often distinct & unique, tho at times have overlapped. That's why I previously mentioned "alliance of convenience w/ IRI" (which really isn't unusual in politics).
My question: Is IRI & IRGC not helping Bashar Asad & his gov't to deal w/ protesters in Syria ? Related FR thread
have often = have often been distinct..
Thanks.
Iran said to help Syria track protesters’ Web use
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2705062/posts
U.S. Officials: Iran Aiding Syria In Crackdown On Anti-Assad Protest
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2704936/posts
Hezbollah Intends To Attack Western Targets Ahead Of Hariri Killing Indictments
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2703968/posts
Grazie mille!
That’s precisely why IRI’s agenda is not always about Islam or Shia Islam per pe. Though - (religion) - has always been a powerful vehicle to use from time immemorial. The same vehicle (religion), in the west, has so far given them legitimacy & immunity from punishment. Nor have the lucrative financial/economic arrangements w/ others acted as impediment.
End of the day, they all will bend any which way that serves their shared interests.
per se
Have a great upcoming day. Your the last poster I will respond to. Time to try to get some sleep.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
