by B. R. GOWANI
Egyptian activist/blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy posted her nude photo on her blog as a sign of protest against the military rule and also as a sign of solidarity with millions of other opponents. But the reaction against her gesture has not been very kind. PHOTOS/Arbels Diary
those dreaming of houris in afterlife
have in Egypt rejected an internet houri
even the not so devout
and liberals and leftists
have not appreciated Aliaa’s naked move
April 6 Youth Movement denounced her:
“We are conservative youths
and we always encourage our members
to be role models as far as ethics are concerned.”
however, across the border
a group of forty Israeli women
with a slogan: ‘Love without Limits‘
has come to her rescue
by stripping themselves
with flat shoes, stockings, and rosette
Aliaa posted her picture on the internet
to enhance the democracy movement
of which she has been a part for sometime
it wouldn’t be out of place to say
she’s a flower in all its natural glory
whose revealing adds another color
to the prolonged Arab Spring
perhaps, the revolutionary red color
of her shoes is to kick the generals’ asses
and the red rosette on her hair is to
allay the fears of the liberals and leftists
and she is transparent* as a houri of Paradise
to please the Islamists
her motive was not commercial
and the risk involved was/is immense
hers is a revolt against the Islamic norms
and those wanting to preserve the status quo
not all Muslim women are going to
start shedding their clothes
but many will be inspired and encouraged
to change their and other women’s miserable condition
just back in March
the Egyptian military
conducted tests on 18 women protestors
to see if their hymens were intact
by inserting two fingers
in detainees’ vaginas
fingering detainees is fine
showing your body is a sin/crime
not these many voices were raised then
as they’re being raised now against Elmahdy
where were the custodians of morality then?
(virginity is a must for women
because it shows their “character”
and the bloodied white sheets are
badges of men’s conquest)
one must endorse her bold action
in order to unveil more Aliaas
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com