<br> From: <a href="mailto:nlinde@hotmail.com">nlinde@hotmail.com</a><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><br><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13056685" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13056685</a><br>
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<h1>Egypt's revolution through the eyes of five women</h1>
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<span>By Bill Law</span>
<span>BBC News, Egypt </span>
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<p>The Egyptian revolution did not occur out of the blue. Activists, male and female, have for years been pushing for change. <i><b>Here, </b><b>five women who helped to shape and define the
revolution - a young blogger, the daughter of a powerful Muslim Brother,
a Coptic Christian doctor, a persecuted democracy activist and a labour
organiser - explain what it means to them.</b></i></p><div>
<br><span style="width:304px"></span><strong>Dalia Ziada</strong>: When I first met Dalia she was a
wide-eyed cyber activist determined to use her blogs to secure rights
for all Egyptians but especially for women. Now, three years on, she is a
veteran blogosphere campaigner. But it was when she was in Tahrir Square standing shoulder to
shoulder with a poor, uneducated woman that she realised she was part
of something bigger. <br></div>
"I asked this woman why she had come and she said 'for change', and then I knew the revolution had begun."<br>
But disillusionment has set in. "During the revolution, it
didn't matter if you were young or old, a man or a woman. The only thing
that mattered was that you were Egyptian. <br>
"Now we are back to our differences, you are a man, you are a
woman, we are told we should not be mingling, and not talk about
everything as before." <br>
"It brings disappointment and fear to my heart, actually."<br>
<div><span style="width:304px"></span><strong><br>Zaahra al-Shatter</strong>: The last time I saw Zaahra, a mother of three, was in March 2008.A school administrator, she had just seen her father and
husband - both members of the then banned Muslim Brotherhood - seized in
a night raid.She was resolute in her determination to fight for their
release, petitioning the government relentlessly, and appealing to the
media.Now they are out, she has shifted her energies to education: <br>
"The greatest thing about this revolution is that it has given the
children of Egypt hope and freedom."<br></div>
She says she is "encouraging the children to think in a
different way, to do different projects, to believe in different values.
It is very important."<br>
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<span style="width:304px"><br></span><strong>Mona Mina</strong>: Mona Mina, a Christian, is the leader of an organisation called Doctors Without Rights.For years she has fought for better pay and working
conditions for doctors. Under President Mubarak, repression and
corruption made that an unwinnable fight.Now she is seizing the opportunity. She was at Tahrir Square,
but she worries that the revolution could be stolen, that the old ways
will simply find new ways to reassert themselves. <br></div>
"The feeling of liberation has started, but it is not
complete yet. It's the first step in a long road, there are still many
things that need to happen for real liberation."<br>
And she says that she and the other Tahrir Square protesters will, if necessary, "shed blood to keep the revolution alive."<br>
<div><span style="width:304px"><br></span><strong>Gameela Ismail</strong>: Gameela Ismail was a popular television presenter, when she and her then husband Ayman Nour openly challenged Hosni Mubarak. <br></div>
Ayman Nour ran for president and lost. He was stripped of parliamentary immunity and thrown in jail. The couple's bank accounts were frozen. Gameela was sacked
from her job and subjected to years of harassment as she campaigned for
his release. She is proud of what Egyptians have accomplished, comparing
it to the fall of the Berlin Wall. "We made a revolution on our own -
the people of Egypt owe no-one." And now, "for the first time, it's our country, not their [the regime's] country. <br>
"Walking in the streets now is completely different to
before, the feeling that for the first time the street is yours, the
neighbourhood is yours, the country is yours."<br>
Gameela is running for parliament in the elections scheduled for later this year.<br>
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<strong>Ayesha Abdul Aziz</strong>: Ayesha is a farmer in the
Nile Delta and a labour organiser. In her household unmarried Ayesha
sits at the head of the table. In this and in so many other ways she is
different from most rural women. In 2008, she led a strike to win equal pay for female tobacco factory workers. She won that fight against the odds. But last year she lost
an attempt win a seat in parliament, in blatantly rigged elections. She will run again in the elections scheduled for later this
year. Win or lose, she will fight for better schools, better hospitals,
for decent roads and clean water. <br>
"I am a woman and thank God I know my rights." <br>
But she does not think that a woman will ever become president of Egypt.<br>
"No, no, no, that is not an issue for me. Egypt is so tough, it really needs a man to run it." <br>
<p>Download the podcast here: <u><b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/cc" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/cc</a> </b></u></p>
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