En tant que groupe de travail du Forum féministe africain, nous sommes attristés d'apprendre que neuf défenseuses des droits humains ont été arrêtées le 21 Juin 2014 au Caire après avoir participé à une manifestation pacifique contre la loi sur la protestation et les réunions publiques[1]. Les neuf femmes sont: La paix soit sur toi, Sanaa Seïf, Hanan Mustafa Mohamed, Salwa Mihriz, Samar Ibrahim, Rania El-Sheikh, Nahid Sherif (known as Nahid Bebo) and Fikreya Mohamed.
As Africans and as feminists we have witnessed the tremendous leadership of Egyptian women before, during and since the 2011 revolution and in organising for democracy, including taking to streets where they have continued to mobilize despite facing violence and harassment for being women. We know that this is the continuation of a legacy of brave and important activism that Egyptian feminists and women’s rights activists have made across history towards shaping freedom in Egypt.
As the African Feminist Forum Working Group we send out solidarity to our fellow activists and sisters.
We also add our support to the following six demands made by Nazra for Feminist Studies, to the Egyptian authorities:
1. Drop all charges directed at the women human rights defenders and effectuate their immediate and unconditional release;
2. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all the aforementioned women human rights defenders;
3. Cease the harassment and persecution of human rights defenders and ensure that all human rights defenders in Egypt are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities free from persecution, arbitrary arrest, judicial harassment and physical violence;
4. Ensure that the Protest and Public Assembly Law is revised to be fully compliant with relevant international standards and the newly passed Egyptian constitution;
5. Guarantee the right of women human rights defenders to engage in human rights work and take measures to ensure their protection before the law and in society;
6. Quash the convictions of other human rights defenders that are based on a Protest and Public Assembly Law and drop all charges stemming from the legitimate exercise of the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Signé,
Groupe de travail africain Feminist Forum
Date 24th June 2014
[1] Law No, 107 on the Right to Public Meetings, Processions and Peaceful Demonstrations, passed in 2013
Libre!