Save the Azhar girls

“I want to protect the girls, they are the mothers of the future” were the last words said by President Morsi in his final speech as president. It was as if he expected that the gang of generals that would succeed him would violate all limits, values and norms that our people were raised with, and that he would be succeeded by Egypt’s worst who will destroy Egyptian values.

Politics can go to hell; profits and losses cannot be matched to the honour of countries and the dignity of human beings. I am looking past the rotten elites; the forces claiming to be revolutionary while they sided with the coup; and the neo-fascists who danced on the blood of the people. I am also disregarding those who claimed to be human rights activists but remained silent when faced with a brutal regime that knows no moral bounds. I do not acknowledge any of these individuals; they are zeroes in the balances of men and in the calculation of honour. Do not ask me about the great people and their ancient civilisation; I do not bury my head in the sand. Don’t ask me where the men and young women in their early twenties are and why they are spending their days in prison with criminals for no justifiable reason.

A recent human rights report confirmed that Al-Azhar University students have been subjected to physical attacks and serious legal violations that are unprecedented in the history of the student movement, both qualitatively and quantitatively. They have faced such treatment only because they expressed their opinion in rejecting the military coup and demanding the rights of their peers.

The report states that the horrific violations included killing, torture and sexual assault, noting that none of these acts have received adequate attention from human rights and legal parties until now. Indeed, no legal investigations have been conducted, despite the fact that these crimes were committed over six months ago.

It also points out that the most basic internationally-recognised human rights principles have become extinct in Egypt, and that the coup authorities do not adhere to any red lines. They also violate the societal norms that have been established for hundreds of years, making it easy to violate and abuse women in an unheard-of manner; this did not even happen during the rule of the ousted Hosni Mubarak.

In addition to this, the report includes the testimonies of students who have been subjected to aberrant violations at the hands of police, military forces, security services and the thugs, all under the gaze of the Arab League; it was even “welcomed” by them.

“The number of female Al-Azhar students martyred is three so far,” affirms the report, while the number of injuries resulting from live bullets and tear gas is not known; it is estimated to be in the hundreds. One hundred and twenty-two women students from Al-Azhar University campuses around Egypt have been detained by the authorities; 35 were arrested on the main Cairo campus.

The Shaikh of Al-Azhar did not hear the cries of the girls and the scholars around him were not able to speak; they did not dare to. If you regard such young women as your enemies, you may find a political justification for these crimes. If you do, you have sold your manhood.

When people are stripped of their feelings or their human conscience, it is frightening. How can I describe those who have disregarded their religion and their world and chosen another world to please their murderous masters and prove their loyalty to these criminals in order for the circles of corruption to be complete? This corruption has affected all government institutions, including the police, military, prosecution, judiciary and media.

It is as if Egypt is being tampered with shamelessly and ignorantly according to the whims of these people, and their ignorance has exceeded our collective imagination, especially when women are violated on the streets.

I will not ask where those who have talked on and on about human rights and women’s rights are; they are here and I am one of them. I am defending them, and while doing so, I cannot ask about those shameful individuals who are not concerned with their cause. They are individuals who are after the false media and false human rights; were members of political parties that we had once believed were liberal or left-wing; and called for democracy in Egypt without any discrimination against race, gender, religion, political affiliation or social class. Instead, they have lost the most basic principles of humanity and chosen to be slaves to the coup.

The devils of the coup have followed the path of notorious torturer Hamza Al-Basyouni, but we will not give them the pleasure of screaming before their whips or weapons. Their lowlife status will never enable them to understand the smiles of our girls in their prisons.

#save_azhar_girls

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.