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Reflections
from Tahrir Square
Rumbidzai
Dube
July 09, 2011
As a Zimbabwean,
an African, a black person and a woman, I cannot help but wish my
life were different. No, I do not wish I had a different nationality
- I love my country and all its beauty. I do not wish I were anything
else but an African - I love the diversity that makes our continent
what it is. I do not wish to be anything other than black - in fact
I love being black because I do not believe in the stereotypes attached
to being black. I am not barbaric! I do not eat human flesh! I do
not live in a jungle! I am not ignorant though I do not claim to
know everything there is to know in this world! I am not poor even
though my bank account is empty! As one of my professors always
said whereas some subscribe to the "I think therefore I am"
theory by Rene Descartes as an African I believe "We are therefore
I am. "Hence money does not make me rich, family does. When
I have no family then I am poor. When I wear something black there
is definitely a difference between my skin complexion and that piece
of clothing and I see the same difference when a 'white' person
wears a white dress so maybe that label should be changed to dark
skinned and light skinned instead. I love being a woman, ask any
woman who is comfortable in her skin and she will tell you she does
not wish to be recreated any differently. The reason I wish my life
were different is that I hate the negativity attached to these identities
that make my life more difficult than it should be. As a Zimbabwean
I face repression from my own government. We cannot express ourselves
freely, assemble freely, associate freely and choose who we want
to govern us freely. As an African our nations are subjected to
global politics characterized by the paradox of 'equal' nations
yet some are more equal than others.' This has caused untold suffering,
particularly, to the African peoples through skewed negotiations
on climate change. We constantly fight the war on the patenting
of life saving drugs as against free and easy access to medicines.
We are victims of conflicts fuelled by the availability of arms
and weapons supplied by developed nations, the so called 'War economies."
As a black person I am constantly made to feel I need to measure
up to something. I still have not figured out what that something
is since I certainly do not feel I am lacking in any respect. As
for my struggle as woman, that cannot be told in this short space.
I will leave it for another day and forum.
Where am I going
with all this? Well here is my story . . .
Today I spent
an hour in Tahrir Square, mingling with the thousands of Egyptians
who were gathered there. Some were just sitting and discussing the
recent developments in the country including the acquittal of some
and conviction of other perpetrators of human rights violations
during the Jan 25 protests. Others were chanting slogans making
demands from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces to implement the
reforms that have been demanded since the Revolution began. Yes,
there were factions in the Square. I came across one stand comprising
youths that cried out "Allah Akbar" an Islamic phrase
loosely translated to mean "God is the Most High." I also
found another one where they were playing Christian gospel music.
It was clear there were different groupings in the Square but guess
what, they were all in the Square. They could have chosen to assemble
in different squares but they did not. They came together, putting
aside their differences for a greater purpose which was to put the
message across clearly to the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces
that this new earned right conceived during the Revolution shall
neither be aborted nor miscarried. I also met a 14 year old blogger
- yes fourteen. Before he has even reached the legal age of majority
he understands that politics and political participation affects
his life and impacts on his human rights. He does not shy away from
it because 'politics is a dirty game' - no. He takes charge and
makes legitimate demands from the politicians in his country. I
spent quality time with my close friends Alaa Abd El Fattah and
Manal Bahey El Din Hassan who have been blogging for years at http://manalaa.net
, exposing the Mubarak regime for the dictatorship that it was.
Alaa got arrested several times by the police and today he stands
with the rest of the Revolutionaries celebrating the fruits of his
and many other people's hard work. I walked within that Square for
an hour and in all that time I did not get sexually harassed, neither
did I hear any man whisper the obscene things that I am usually
subjected to on the street. I was treated with respect and I did
not feel conspicuous as a dark-skinned person amongst the crowds
of light-skinned people.
What did all
this mean to me?
As Zimbabweans,
Africans, black people, women we can change our future. It takes
patience, persistence and perseverance but it not impossible. Let
history be remembered as the hair we shaved off our heads but let
it not determine the kind of new hair we grow on our heads. Black
people let us not remain victims of perceptions created ages ago
and sustained for generations by people who suffer from a misplaced
superiority complex. Africans let us not let the ghost of colonialism
haunt us forever. Zimbabweans let us not pay for not having been
born when the war of independence was fought. Women, let us stand
strong against the skeleton that patriarchy has since become. We
have been eating off the flesh of these things and I am sure pushing
over the bones will not be such a hard task.
Back to Tahrir
Square and Egypt . . .
Many people
have argued that the culture of protests has become almost maniacal
in the Arab world. Others argue that they have not seen how protesting
has helped the Egyptian people and I quote my colleague, Paul speaking
of the revolutionaries and the ousting of Mubarak (Paul and I studied
for the Bachelor of Laws Honours Degree at the University of Zimbabwe)
"I do not see any good results coming from them. And do u believe
they are the ones who removed him from power? I do not think so
that is why they back in the streets bcoz their revolution was not
home grown"
Well here is
what I think. Protesting helped Egyptians get rid of a despotic
government whose corruption had reached chronic levels. It ensured
that their demands for justice against the perpetrators of human
rights violations during the Jan 25 protests were heard. Protesting
ensured that property and money worth thousands of dollars belonging
to the state which had been siphoned by the President and his wife
was returned and handed over to the State. Through their concerted
effort, Egyptians are setting a culture which if entrenched will
see better respect, promotion and protection of human rights. How?
Every time they gather in protest they are asserting their right
to peaceful assembly and association as well as their right to freely
express themselves. Every time they make political demands pertaining
to law reform, constitutional amendments, as well as the formation
of political parties and their participation in elections they are
asserting the right to participate in the governance of their country.
It definitely is not as simplistic as it sounds but this is one
step (or however many it may be) positively taken and it is gaining
momentum each day. The police and military authorities still resist
this culture but their resistance is becoming weaker each day. The
weaker it becomes the more entrenched these freedoms will be in
Egyptian society, spelling a progressive realization of their rights.
It is also many
steps ahead of the Zimbabwean scenario where attempts to hold peaceful
protests are crushed every time. In Zimbabwe, we have a security
system that harasses, arrests and detains lawyers for demanding
the sanctity of the profession that they chose. Our system finds
a group of brave women (the Women
of Zimbabwe Arise - WOZA) as criminals yet these women are constantly
advocating social justice. The Egyptians have certainly gone one
step ahead in this regard and the more they gather in Tahrir Square
and hold their peaceful protests with no interference from the state
apparatus, the higher their chances of sustaining this exercise
of their right.
No sexual harassment
for an hour?
Yes, I have
discovered that Egypt is one of those places where being a woman
is particularly difficult. The way you dress, walk, talk and laugh
is so scrutinized that you cannot help but be very self conscious.
Men whisper all sorts of obscenities to you as they pass by. Others
stalk you. Some even try to grab you and run - in public! Yet today
I was in that Square and for a whole hour none of that happened
yet there were thousands of men there. Why I asked myself? The obvious
answer is because the Revolution birthed a new culture of respect
for women with leading figures like Dr Laila Soueif emerging as
lead figures at some defining moments of the Revolution http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/13/world/la-fg-egypt-revolutionaries-20110213.
Harassment of women was viewed as unacceptable behavior and hence
that perception holds true. Yes it might only be wholly observed
in Tahrir Square and at moments such as the one I experienced today
but there is no doubt with time it shall cascade down to the everyday
lives of Egyptians. It will take time but as always everything that
is good comes through hard work, perseverance and persistence.
A 14 year old
blogger? Wow!
My first thought
was; I am 27 and I have done close to nothing to share the knowledge
I have on human rights, democracy and democratization, good governance
and women's rights? ZIP!! And I am very ashamed to admit this. My
second thought was I wish I knew a 14 year old blogger in Zimbabwe,
let alone one who blogs on human rights and political participation.
It is this kind of awareness that we need to build in our youth
in Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa. A youth that is not polarized
on political grounds. A youth that resists state patronage. A youth
that questions policies and practices that do not benefit the wider
population. We do not want a youth that is used to terrorise communities,
or to rape women and girls, or to force communities to support a
party or a government they clearly loathe. It is time that our 14
year olds developed an interest in the things that shape their future
and the future of their countries rather than concentrating on figuring
out how to put a condom on!
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