American Morning
High rate of harassment, sexual assault in Egypt and other Arab nations
CBS News correspondent Lara Logan is recovering in a U.S. hospital after being sexually assaulted Friday in Tahrir Square.
Unfortunately, Logan's experience isn't unique; according to a 2008 survey by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, 83% of Cairo women and 98% of foreign women in Cairo said they had been harassed. Mona Eltahawy is an Egyptian columnist and, since Logan's attack, has turned her Twitter account into a forum for discussion about women's rights in the Arab world and about the attack on Logan. Eltahawy speaks to American Morning's Kiran Chetry.
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A speedy recovery to her and may she regain her strenth and spirit soon. Lara Logan, if anything, must be seen as a real martyr. A martyr in persisting in her chosen occpation of Journalism and a brave intelligent young woman who was doing a great job bringing to us the realities of this tsunami of change in that opressed (for decades) country. What happened to her is reprehensible and the Cairo thugs who did this should be best hung in Tahrir square.
Bravo to the courageous Egyptian Women who came to Lara's rescue. May they, after 3 decades of oppression, now look their tormentors in the eye and bring them to justice. They should pass legislaiton making sexual harassment of any form a crime. No hijabs were worn by female grads in the 50s, the 60s, or 70s! Since Mubarak's brutal regime, Egyptian men became brutish and the education of girls ignored and discounted. What do you expect then, if women's rights are suffocated and not treated as human rights in that society?
Like Hillary Clinton said in 1995 ih Bejing (much to the displeasure of her hosts:
WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS.
Egyptian women should not be excluded from Democracy in Egypt. If they are, their attempts at forming a civil society will fail!
While deploring this assault against ms. Logan, no-one should get too self righteous or allow this incident as an excuse to confirm or express our prejudices.
After all this kind of thing seems to be an almost daily occurrence in the American Military. And no-one should forget those stress -filled days guarding prisoners and how they pushed soldiers to commit deplorable acts in Abu Ghraib.
Frontline's article on sexual trading just hit home to me when I saw it. I live in the U.S. but have been assaulted at least 4 times in my life of 66years. I am outraged now that more women are not outraged at the cowardice of some men. I will never spend another of my tourist dollars in countries or states that exploit women. Our country has its own issues but I will try to avoid all areas where women are so exploited. I am so disappointed in men, our fellow human being. So god fearing yet such cowards. Is taking something that is not freely given in love that great a conquest?
WHY hasn't our American president demanded justice for the sexual assault on our American reporter, Ms. Lara Logan??? WHERE is the outcry from the American people??? If the Egyptian Army helped to rescue Ms. Logan, then they are also capable of helping to prosecute the scum who perpetrated this act!
Had this attack occurred against an Egyptian citizen (or any foreign citizen) on American soil, that country's outcry for justice from us would have been swift! (As it should be.)
Why would our president demand less? Why would we as Americans demand less from our President?
Please no more US money for Egypt
What ever happens in Egypt and what happened to Lara Logan is very sad, and those people should be put on trial and removed from socity forever. But don't single out Egypt.
I never lived in Egypt and I am not Egypytion, I have lived in USA ...almost all my life and every time I watch the local news all I hear is grils getting raped and kids getting kidnaped and dead bodies found here and there and so on....and that is only in Central Florida news.
So imagin all if we count the crime in every city and state in this country aginst women, from rape murder domestic violence and I am talking about the ones that gets reported because they were news worthy. I am pretty sure the numbers and percentage comparing to other countrys are goinng to be equal or maybe even more.
Not because women can dress the way they want and drive a car and go to work and have the same rights as a man, doesn't mean they are respectd and treatd the way they should be.
So lets work on our local issues and human rights in general here where we live instead of trying to help nations that are thousands of miles away.
God bless America and every other nation out there on planet EARTH!
Best wishes to Lara Logan and every abused women out there.See More
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