When the revolutionary momentum in North Africa erupted onto the world stage at the start of January 2011, the world was exposed to a new force in international politics. This force was sustained by the energy and power of the grassroots women and youths of Africa. We want to use this day, the 100th anniversary of the commemoration of International Women’s Day, to salute the women who emerged in the leadership of this revolution that is still under way. In particular, it is important to salute women such as Amal Sharaf and Asmaa Mahfouz of the April 6 Youth Movement of Egypt, who showed exemplary leadership in challenging the much-dreaded Mubarak regime. These women are part of a new generation of revolutionaries who are fighting to shift the power in society from patriarchs and capitalists to working women and men. African peoples throughout the world have embraced the celebration of International Women’s Day, even though at the inception of this celebration, people of African descent were discriminated against in the mainstream women’s movement. We salute those women from Egypt along with the women who call for investment in caring instead of killing. Read more
Horace Campbell is Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University. His recent book is Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya. He is author of: Rasta and Resistance From Marcus Garvey to Walter Rodney; Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation; Pan Africanism, Pan Africanists and African Liberation in the 21st Century; and Barack Obama and 21st Century Politics. Follow on Twitter @Horace_Campbell.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Saluting the Revolutionary Women of Egypt on International Women’s Day
When the revolutionary momentum in North Africa erupted onto the world stage at the start of January 2011, the world was exposed to a new force in international politics. This force was sustained by the energy and power of the grassroots women and youths of Africa. We want to use this day, the 100th anniversary of the commemoration of International Women’s Day, to salute the women who emerged in the leadership of this revolution that is still under way. In particular, it is important to salute women such as Amal Sharaf and Asmaa Mahfouz of the April 6 Youth Movement of Egypt, who showed exemplary leadership in challenging the much-dreaded Mubarak regime. These women are part of a new generation of revolutionaries who are fighting to shift the power in society from patriarchs and capitalists to working women and men. African peoples throughout the world have embraced the celebration of International Women’s Day, even though at the inception of this celebration, people of African descent were discriminated against in the mainstream women’s movement. We salute those women from Egypt along with the women who call for investment in caring instead of killing. Read more
