#she_defends campaign poster.The #she_defends campaign launches this year in the light of regional and international political and economic turmoil, and in the light of the suppression practiced in unison by regional authorities. The #she_defends campaign stresses that the battles fought by WHRDs to exist in the general realm of the Middle East and North Africa are still ongoing, and despite endless attempts to silence and intimidate them, WHRDs have managed to stand firmly as defenders against tyranny and suppression.
Since the launch of our first campaign last year, WHRDs were subject to countless violations, cruel campaigns, violence, torture, and even murder. In Egypt, the assets of internationally celebrated WHRDs Mozn Hassan, founder and director of Nazra for Feminist Studies in Egypt, and lawyer Azza Suleiman, head of the board of trustees of the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA) were frozen. They were also forbidden from travelling, along with a number of WHRDs from the Al Nadeem Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation – a center that was forcefuly closed down by the authorities. All of this came along with Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s approval of a law that facilitates governmental control over associations and organizations of civil society, hence reducing the realm of public spaces accessed by WHRDs.
Tyrannical authorities and patriarchy work hand in hand
