“On a Very Personal Level, My Body Was Affected”
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“ON A VERY PERSONAL LEVEL, MY BODY WAS AFFECTED” FEMINISMS AND THE BODY IN PRESENT-DAY CAIRO Wetenschappelijke verhandeling Aantal woorden: <21.935> Lotte Debrauwer Stamnummer: 01403615 Promotor: Prof. dr. Koenraad Bogaert Masterproef voorgelegd voor het behalen van de graad master in de richting Politieke Wetenschappen afstudeerrichting Internationale Politiek Academiejaar: 2018-2019 Deze pagina is niet beschikbaar omdat ze persoonsgegevens bevat. Universiteitsbibliotheek Gent, 2021. This page is not available because it contains personal information. Ghent Universit , Librar , 2021. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................. 4 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 6 PART 1. Women and the Feminist Struggle in Egypt ............................................................................ 9 Women and Feminism in Egypt: 1919-2011 ..................................................................................... 10 Women in the Egyptian Revolution: 2011-2014 ............................................................................... 16 A) The Eighteen Days ................................................................................................................... 16 B) Supreme Council of the Armed Forces .................................................................................... 18 C) Morsi ........................................................................................................................................ 23 D) Sisi ............................................................................................................................................ 25 PART 2. Towards a Typology of Feminism and the Body ................................................................... 28 Theoretical Framework: the Body ................................................................................................. 33 PART 3. Research Project & Findings .................................................................................................. 36 Explanation of the Research Project & Research Question .............................................................. 36 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 37 A) Interviewing ....................................................................................................................... 37 B) Reflexivity ......................................................................................................................... 40 Findings ............................................................................................................................................. 42 A) On 2011-2014 .................................................................................................................... 42 B) On 2018 ............................................................................................................................. 43 PART 4. Discussion and Conclusion .................................................................................................... 55 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 63 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are some people who sincerely deserve my gratitude for their contribution to the realization process of this dissertation. First of all, there is my supervisor, Joachim, who managed to keep me on the right track, especially for the conduct of my research in Cairo. Second, there is all of my respondents, who willingly took part in the interviews although they might have been asked to talk about these issues many times before. Third, my roommate Ahmed from Cairo has been the most amazing host and friend I could wish for. He helped me with some contacts, and we also shared some very inspiring conversations that helped me reflect about the matter in a profound way. It was so rewarding to have him around in the city that never sleeps. Fourth, Marlies, who has guided me on my first day in an overwhelming city like Cairo and put me in touch with some interesting people. Fifth, I want to express my gratitude and warmth for Sien, who has taken the time to proofread the dissertation. And last but not least, of course, I want to confess my love and appreciation for my parents, who have given me the time, space, and resources to make this dissertation something that I can be proud of. What is a researcher without her data and contacts? And what is a person without her peers and loved ones? Thanks you all! I could not have done this without you. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS D-CAF: Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival EFU: Egyptian Feminist Union NCW: National Council for Women OPANTISH: Operation Anti Sexual Harassment SCAF: Supreme Council of the Armed Forces 4 ABSTRACT Women and feminism have received tremendous attention within the body of literature on the Arab Spring in general, and the Egyptian context in particular. This dissertation compares this period (2011-2014) with present-day Cairo. The data for present-day Cairo have been collected by interviewing eleven Egyptian artists who are somehow linked to feminist creative dissent. These respondents, as well as several cases from earlier years, have then been categorized into a typology of feminism. This typology helps to distract the main challenges within the feminist struggle today compared to the revolutionary period, which is the research question at the heart of this dissertation. The main theoretical concept that is used to do this, is ‘the body’, as studied from the field of performance studies. The three challenges that have been identified in the discussion section are: the veil, depoliticisation of women’s issues, and the non-modification of both the typology and the body politic. The overall conclusion is that these debates have not been modified substantially when compared to the revolutionary period; and the body politic carried out by the regime is even said to have returned to the pre-2011 order. The goal of this project is to form an impetus for further research on feminism and the body in contemporary Egypt and the Arab region as a whole. 5 Introduction The spectacular events in the Arab world in 2011 are to be understood as the culmination of a process of protest and revolt that had been going on for years in most of the countries in the region (Bogaert, 2013, p. 318). The protestors did not only call for more political rights and freedom, but also for a more just and social economic policy (Bogaert, 2013, p. 318). Interestingly, most of the male icons of the Arab Revolutions were dead and clothed men, whereas for women, their iconism and ‘fame’ was mainly built upon their disrobement (Kraidy, 2016, p. 13). When looked at from a multi-country perspective, the power of imitation was key in the formation of the activist-citizen in the different Arab countries during the Arab Spring (Tripp, 2013, p. 208). Crucial to the spread of the protests throughout the world was the use of citation and intertextuality, both in a historical and geographical way (Spellman-Poots, Webb, & Werbner, 2014, p. 15). Tripp (2013, p. 209) makes an important point in stating that to understand the ‘why here, why now’ question of the Arab uprisings, it is crucial to have good knowledge of the historical and spatial context of the region. Yet, answering this question goes beyond the scope of this dissertation. In this work, the focus will be on one country in particular, which is Egypt. More specifically, it is the city of Cairo, where the research took place in March 2018, that is central here. The years between 2011 and 2014 have been flooded with an overwhelming body of research on feminism and women’s rights, often from a narrative of exceptionalism. After 2014 however, attention faded. This dissertation wants to look at different forms of feminism and issues within feminist debates, with the main focus on the concept of ‘the body’. More specifically, a comparison will be made between the period 2011-2014 and today. The research question that will be answered is the following one: What are the main challenges within the feminist struggle in Cairo today compared to the revolutionary period? To make this comparison, a research project in Cairo has been conducted in which several artists who are linked to feminist creative insurgency have been interviewed. The goal of answering this question is to bring clarity; to shed light on some of the debates that are relevant within Egyptian feminism, so that this work can be a starting point for scholars who want to either dig into one specific aspect, or to link these findings to other political trends in Egypt or the Arab region. 6 In part one, I will start with a concise historical explanation on feminism and women’s rights between 1919 and 2011. This historical framework is important to understand certain trends that are still present today. Second, the role of women within the revolutionary