United: The women came together from all social and religious backgrounds
Demands: Anger has been mounted over the military government's heavy-handed treatment of demonstrations
Anger: The protest is one of the first to be led by women - though many had male chaperones
March: A woman holds up a photograph of a protester being dragged along the ground by police
- Teenager shot by soldiers after they attempt to remove protesters
- At least 14 killed since violent clashes erupted on Friday
- Former general calls for protesters to be thrown into 'Hitler's ovens'
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accuses military of targeting women
By WIL LONGBOTTOM and HUGO GYE
Last updated at 9:47 AM on 21st December 2011
Up to 10,000 women took to the streets of Cairo yesterday to protest against the horrific abuse by soldiers.
They were surrounded by a cordon of male protesters as they marched through the centre of Egypt’s capital.
And their actions forced an apology from the military regime behind the violence of the past five days.
Many carried shocking pictures of women being dragged by the hair, kicked and stripped – including the ‘girl in the blue bra’ who was kicked and beaten with metal bars.
‘They say they are here to protect us, but they are stripping us naked,’ the marchers chanted. Even before the demonstration was over, the military council governing the country issued an apology for what it called ‘violations’.
It expressed ‘deep regret to the great women of Egypt’ and reaffirmed ‘its respect and total appreciation for the women of Egypt and their right to protest, effectively and positively participate in the political life on the road to the democratic transition’.
And it promised it was taking measures to punish those responsible for violations.
But the protesters have little faith in their rulers.
The attacks came during clashes since Friday as troops broke up protests by activists demanding the end to the rule of the military, which took power after the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February.
Clashes saw military police chasing young men and women through Tahrir Square and nearby streets, beating them with clubs and sticks.
The images of abuse drew harsh words from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who described them as ‘a systematic degradation of Egyptian women’.
'They say they are here to protect us, but they are stripping us naked,' the marchers chanted.
'The girl dragged around is just like my daughter. They do that and then call us thugs,' said Um Hossam, a 54-year old woman in traditional black dress and a veil. 'I am a free woman and attacking this woman or killing protesters is just like going after one of my own children.'
Yesterday morning, in the second dawn raid in as many days, troops and riot police descended on Cairo's Tahrir Square in a bid to evict protesters.
Dr Ahmed Saad, a volunteer at the field hospital in the square, said a 15-year-old was in a critical condition after being shot.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2076547/Egypt-protests-Thousands-women-march-mistreatment-Tahrir-Square.html#ixzz1hAkjEfnD
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