Reclaiming Power: Islamist Women’s Resistence Against Sexual Violence and Political Repression in the Egyptian Arab Spring

The 2011 Arab Spring  is one of the most notable series of historical events in the region’s history. The Arab Spring is characterized by massive civilian protests that erupted in seven countries across the region, including Egypt, that called for political reform, additional economic opportunities, and even the removal of current regimes. The Arab Spring resulted in a regional upheaval that even ended in regime transition and the ousting of former oppressive regimes. This was the case in Egypt where mass civilian mobilizations called for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak from office. Former President Mubarak took office in 1981 after his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, was publicly assassinated. Mubarak’s presidency can be described as oppressive and distressing, where citizens of Egypt faced harsh repression and censorship at the hands of the state’s mukhabarat, or secret police. In addition to repression by the state’s armed forces, Egyptians were faced with sub-par economic conditions and opportunities such as high levels of unemployment and underemployment amongst Egypt’s younger population. A demographic in the Arab World, particularly in Egypt, that increased their political traction through self-organization and mass mobilization was women, and more specifically in Egypt, Islamist women from the Muslim Brotherhood political group.

During these massive civilian unrests, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, a political Islamist group formally banned, gained significant political influence after a period of nonexistence in Egypt’s political space. The group was heavily involved in mobilizations during the initial uprisings, and following the ousting of Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood had significant influence over the political culture during Egypt’s transition period. Founded in 1928 by Hasan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood’s goal “is to Islamize society through the promotion of religious law, values, and morals.” Under Gamal Abdel Nasser’s presidency, which began in 1956, the group’s members were arrested in high capacity and formally barred from political participation. The 2011 Arab Spring provided a political opening for the Brotherhood to successfully reintegrate into Egypt’s political and civil society. One group within the Brotherhood that experienced tremendous momentum in terms of political participation was the Muslim Sisters, the female members of the organization. Based on eyewitness accounts, it is estimated that between 20-50 percent of protestors in Egypt's Tahrir Square, the most famous location for public sit-ins during the Arab Spring, were Egyptian women, including many members of the Muslim Sisterhood. In addition to large mobilization on the streets, the Muslim Sisters began to focus on building up their internal leadership structures through conferences, women-only sit-ins, and advocating for the inclusion of women in the Brotherhood’s leadership structure. Their efforts were successful and, in the parliamentary election of 2011, the Muslim brotherhood presented 46 female nominees. 

Despite their success in increasing visibility within the Brotherhood, the leadership structure of the Brotherhood did not allow for women to take on leadership roles in sectors of the organization that would allow them to build a sense of female-autonomy or self-leadership as there was always a Brother with more authority.  While women did gain leadership roles within the structure of the Brotherhood, these roles can be criticized as being strategic choices of inclusion by the Brotherhood in an effort to gain democratic legitimacy within Egypt. The Brotherhood utilized gender inclusion as a means of gaining political legitimacy in Egypt through the creation of new political units that could accommodate increased female leadership, but remained under Brotherhood control through internal gender divisions. One example of this was the Freedom and Justice Party created by the Muslim Brotherhood. Within the FJP, women were able to hold leadership positions but these leadership positions only gave them authority over other women, upholding the structural gender-based division that had previously prevented the full inclusion of women. Leaders of the FJP also dodged questions regarding their opinions on the capabilities of a woman as the head of state in Egypt and, on one occasion, the Muslim Brotherhood leadership affirmed the FJP would only support a male candidate for that position. The usurping of gender inclusion for political gains and image for the Muslim Brotherhood demonstrated how the use of women as political tools for the organization did not translate into women’s issues as long-term priorities for the Brotherhood. 

While the increased presence of women in grassroots movements during the Arab Spring allowed them to infiltrate patriarchal leadership structures and exercise a stronger sense of autonomy in their activism, Egypt also saw a jarring rise in sexual violence against women participating in the mobilizations and sit-ins during the Arab Spring.  Egypt’s political system is male-dominated and the increase of women in general, and particularly the Muslim Sisterhood, in the political space prompted strong and violent reactions from men as this increased demand for political involvement was disruptive to the gender status quo in Egypt. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports from 2013 and 2014 detail some of the brutal and horrific instances of sexual violence that Islamist women were subjugated to by both the Mubarak regime and other Egyptian citizens. One Human rights Watch report, titled “Egypt: Epidemic of Sexual Violence” details how on July 3rd 2013, there were reports of at least 91 cases of sexual assault in the previous four days. The nature of these attacks often included group-based sexual violence described as “as long as 45 minutes before they [the victim] were able to escape”. During the 2011 Tahrir Square sit-ins, women’s rights groups in Egypt reported at least 19 cases of mob sexual violence, which, as the protests continued, were increasing in frequency and levels of violence. The Muslim Sisterhood’s political tenacity can be contextualized within the larger women’s movements during the Arab Spring that demonstrated resilience in the face of sexual violence and repression though continued mobilization and organizing female-only movements. 

In response to the increasing frequency of sexual violence, as well as the Brotherhood’s desire to prevent increasing demands for expanded gender-equality within the movement, which could come from continued female-led sit-ins and protests, the leadership of the Brotherhood urged women to stay off the streets and abstain from publicly demonstrating.While historically, the Muslim Sisteherood had operated solely directly under the guise of the Brotherhood, the increase in separate Sisterhood leadership branches and all women’s movements gave the Sisterhood a greater sense of autonomy to make decisions about participation and mobilizations for themselves. Muslim Sisterhood members drew strength and resilience from their experiences as survivors of sexual assault and violence, defying the Brotherhood's demands that they cease their political activism as they continued to demonstrate through Sisterhood organized sit-ins. 

In 2014, Aya Hosny, a prominent female leader among the Sisters, gave an interview describing the sentiments of the Sisterhood. “It is my role to be there! I am part of society and I am part of this group!” Hosny’s remarks demonstrated a shifting gender-dynamic within the Muslim Brotherhood as Sisters no longer viewed their political activism as contingent on the Brothers, but instead, something within their autonomy. This distinctive pattern of political autonomy and resilience can be seen in the formation of women-led political coalitions such as Women Against the Coup (WAC). WAC was founded by Sisterhood members Dr. Hoda Abd el-Moniem and Dr. Hoda Gonia. In their founding statement, the group expressed the Sisterhood’s desire to play an active role in Islamist political struggle as well as to hold onto the political achievements and freedoms Islamist women had achieved thus far. The distinct leadership structure the Sisterhood created outside of the Brotherhood is a testament to their political development, strong sense of autonomy, and resilience in the face of being targeted for political and sexual violence. The establishment of WAC by Sisters allowed for Egyptian Islamist women to capitalize on their political momentum in a manner which centered around female leadership. By October of 2013, affiliate groups, such as Ultras Girls, Girls Against the Coup, and the Free of al-Azhar movement, had been founded across the country. These groups were inspired by and connected with the Sisters who had established Women Against the Coup. 

The political resilience of the Sisterhood in the face of political repression as well as extreme sexual violence, is a testament to the transformative nature the Arab Spring brought to the political climate of Egypt. While scholars typically focus on the governmental and political changes that came out of the Arab Spring, it is crucial to understand how 2011 was a watershed year for women’s engagement in the Egyptian political arena. Not only did the Muslim Sisters build political momentum in 2011, but they maintained it through the next decade as the Muslim Brother fell under immense political scrutiny in the mid 2010s, resulting in the incarceration of many key male figures. It is the Muslim Sisters that have acted as the backbone of the Islamist political movement in Egypt in times of repression and also in times of increased activism, despite the unique risk of sexual violence that follows being a female activist. Over a decade later, Egyptian women continue to fight against sexual violence, reclaiming their stories of survival and experience with sexual violence as a basis to continue to advocate for women’s rights, inclusion, and safety.