സ്വന്തം നഗ്നത പോസ്റ്റ് ചെയ്ത ആലിയയെ ശിക്ഷിക്കേണ്ടതുണ്ടോ?

സ്വന്തം നഗ്നത ഓണ്‍ലൈനില്‍ പോസ്റ്റ്ചെയ്ത് വിവാദങ്ങള്‍ വിളിച്ചു വരുത്തിയ

ഈജിപ്ത് കൈറൊ സര്‍വകലാശാല വിദ്യാര്‍ഥിനി ആലിയ അല്‍ മെഹ്ദിക്കും

കൂട്ടുകാരനുമെതിരെ ശിക്ഷാ നടപടി സ്വീകരിക്കണമെന്ന് ആവശ്യം ശക്തമായി.

സ്വന്തം അറബ് ബ്ളോഗിലും (http://arebelsdiary.blogspot.com) ട്വിറ്ററിലും

ഫേസ്ബുക്കിലുമാണ് സ്വന്തം നഗ്ന ഫോട്ടോകള്‍ ആലിയ പോസ്റ്റ് ചെയ്തത്.

തന്റെ ബോയ്ഫ്രണ്ടിന്റെ നഗ്ന ചിത്രവും മറ്റു ചില പെയിന്റിംഗുകളിലെ

നഗ്നചിത്രങ്ങളും ഇങ്ങിനെ പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.
പബ്ളിക് കൊലീഷന്‍ ഓഫ് ദ ലോ ആന്റ് ശരീയയുടെ കോഓര്‍ഡിനേറ്റര്‍

അഹമദ് യഹിയയാണ് ആലിയക്കും കരിം ആമിറ എന്ന

ബോയ്ഫ്രണ്ടിനുമെതിരെ ഇസ്ലാമിക നിയമ പ്രകാരം ശിക്ഷാ നടപടി

സ്വീകരിക്കണമെന്നാവശ്യപ്പെട്ട് ഈജിപ്തിലെ അറ്റോണി ജനറലിന് പരാതി

നല്‍കിയത്. ആലിയക്കും ആമിറിനും ശിക്ഷ കിട്ടുമോ ഇല്ലയോ എന്നറിയില്ല.

എന്നാല്‍ ഇതു സംബന്ധിച്ച് പലതലങ്ങളില്‍ നടന്ന ചര്‍ച്ചകളില്‍ ചിലത്

ഇതോടൊപ്പം ചേര്‍ക്കുന്നു. വിപ്ളവാനന്തര ഈജിപ്തില്‍ പരിവര്‍ത്തന

ദശയില്‍ വിദ്യാസമ്പന്നയായ ഒരു യുവതി സ്വന്തം ശരീരം തന്നെ

പുരുഷമേധാവിത്വ, ലൈംഗികാതിക്രമ സമൂഹത്തിനെതിരെ ആയുധമായി

തിരിച്ചു വെച്ചതിന് നാം കാണുന്നതിലും വലിയ ആഴവും പരപ്പുമുണ്ടെന്ന്

കരുതുന്നു. അതിനാല്‍ ആ ചര്‍ച്ചകളില്‍ ചിലത് ചുവടെ:

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Elmahdy: Egypt's Nude Rebel
A picture from Aliaa Magda's Facebook profile.
By: Muhammed Shuair
 Published Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda hits back at sexist comments attacking her after posting nude pictures of herself on the web.

Cairo – Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy might enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the number of hits on her arabic blog Memoirs of a Revolutionary blog http://arebelsdiary.blogspot.com, that went from 10,000 to 110,000 visitors within two days.
Most of the visitors were drawn to the blog by a nude photo of Aliaa, who is a student at the American University of Cairo. Even though the photo was posted in a thoughtful context, the risque picture was still a shock to some.

The photo was published at a time in Egypt when another type of picture, poles apart from the first, sparked national controversy. The debate surrounded the Salafi alNour party's substitution of their female candidates faces on election posters for flowers or photos of their husbands.

Aliaa was aware that she would receive many sexist remarks because of the photo. "Put the models who worked at the Faculty of Fine Arts until the early seventies on trial," she told her critics.

"Hide art books and smash nude archaeological statues, then take your clothes off and look at yourselves in the mirror. Burn your selfdespised bodies in order to get rid of your sexual complexes forever, before directing your sexist insults at me or denying me the freedom of expression," Aliaa said.

The young woman, who is influenced by the feminist writer Nawal alSaadawi, wanted to challenge the cultural norms that she thinks suppresses the body.
This was not Aliaa's first shock. Last Ramadan, websites supporting the ousted President Hosni Mubarak published a photo of Aliaa kissing her boyfriend Karim Amer. Amer was arrested for writing several blog posts titled: "No to Compulsory Recruitment."

The same websites stated that Aliaa and Karim are members of the opposition April 6 Youth Movement. But Karim denied any affiliation with the group. What is significant is that the stolen photo of Aliaa and Karim kissing was not private; it was posted on her Facebook profile.
Aliaa was not ashamed of the photo and did not try to hide it. She and Karim moderate several pages on Facebook, including "Loud Cries," and a blog titled Boy and Girl.

The huge number of visitors to the Memoirs of a Revolutionary blog raises many questions, even though the majority of comments on the photo contain sexist insults. This led Amer to compare the blog's traffic to a sign of sexual obsession in Egypt.

Amer said the variation of comments also reveals a great deal about Egyptian society, which is famous for its high rates of sexual harassment against women.

But some critics weighed in with nuanced reservations about the photo.

"Personal freedom is a right, but shouldn't we take into account the nature of the society in which we live?" one Lebanese blogger wrote.

"The regime takes advantage of such incidents to portray revolutionaries as a group of people who went to Tahrir Square to pursue emotional and sexual relationships, rather than oust a tyrant," he wrote.
But Aliaa's photo raises many questions beyond those surrounding free speech. It may provoke some to ask questions about using the human body as a threat to authorities.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

Tags
Section: Culture & Society
Category: Articles
Tags: #NudePhotoRevolutionary, Egypt, blogger, freedom of expression

Comments

Submitted by Super (not verified) on Fri, 20111118 09:08.

Thanks Aliia!
 Nice photos:)
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Submitted by Mulling it over (not verified) on Fri, 20111118 04:11.

I can't figure out which way to side on this issue. The admirer of attractive women in me is entirely pleased by the photo, yet I clearly can't cite many women of similar physical appeal who include such a shot on their Facebook accounts.

With that I have to believe that the young woman posted the photo more to take a strong shot at the society that surrounds her, and I don't know if that is fair.

(I write these words while still not really wanting to fend off the impulse in me that says: "mmmmmm, she's pretty, so I should let myself be all for her display" )

Were I here in the U.S.A. in an area surrounded by Egyptians, I can't fathom myself ever thinking it OK to insult them or their ways just because they were in a large group which would facilitate my offending many with one swipe at them.

IF I were foolish enough to want to insult Egyptians or their culture, I would surely choose to "Walk Like an Egyptian" first, because nobody really believes that ANYbody walks like they do in the music video for that song, AND the insult is so farfetched and unrealistic that MAYbe the Egyptians would laugh with (or even AT) me and my effort that way.

I'm still mixed on this one... while I can accept that she is sort of making a protest against a society which probably treats women as secondclass people, I just don't know that to offend everyone around her is the right move.

Liken her to, say, Rosa Parks, who also represented a group treated as "second class citizens" (black, Alabama, the southern USA, 1955). While Rosa Parks was a woman sitting on a bus, who was being asked by the unfair system to get up and make way for a white passenger at the time, it probably isn't true that Aliaa Magda Elmahdy is somebody who has any neeeeeeeed to post her attractive nude picture.

If every young adult Egyptian woman posts a full frontal nude photo next week, I don't know who will be aided by their having done so. Of course I can appreciate those observing that middle eastern women are seldom treated fairly or equally, but had Rosa Parks opted instead to stand up and fully undress on that Alabama bus, it probably wouldn't have garnered the same respect she earned instead.

Of course I recognize Aliaa Magda Elmahdy's "right" to have done such a thing (at least by international online freedoms), and because she's that attractive I sure won't critique her for the direct exercise.

It's just... that I still have to admit to feeling far more respect for the (**gasp**  oh the horror!!) number of women who boldly got behind the wheels of automobiles in Saudi Arabia on one recent day, than I do for this attractive woman who posted her nude picture.

I'm a redblooded American man, who would happily take thousands of photos of Aliaa Magda Elmahdy in the nude if she offered me the chance, but her way just doesn't seem like the right way to have protested against her causes.

Somebody I know has a photo of a Starbucks in the middle east, and of an American couple having their photo taken in front of the backdrop, which was ALL male customers sitting around in traditional headdress while drinking coffee there. The photo was among the best pictures I've EVER seen, and nobody had to DO anything out of the ordinary for it to be fantastic!! The last thing I would want to do is go into that setting and do something to insult all of those people or their way of life. In some way, I think Aliaa Magda Elmahdy has accomplished THAT moreso than merely showing off her pretty form.

Had the very same woman taken it all off to parade down my street here in America, I would be perfectly happy to applaud her efforts, and while some may be offended, AND while it would still be illegal HERE, I wouldn't see it as such a blatant offense toward so many.

On a personal note, I thank Aliaa Magda Elmahdy for her beautiful offering... but I don't know that it was the best choice politically...

If societal values remain what they have long been, perhaps Aliaa Magda Elmahdy will be rewarded for her beauty moreso than for any statement she has made with the photo.

ഠ Still Confused
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Submitted by ana rafida (not verified) on Fri, 20111118 15:22.

yeah, she's attractive and you appreciated it as did every guy. But just because we felt that shouldn't be mentioned to qualify her with any merit. And not to mention her attractiveness wouldn't be cheating ourselves, because that wasn't her publicized intent behind the posting as far as I can tell (although I am sure it was). But you came to the right conclusion in your longwinded comment. It's not a statement of courage or defiance. It doesn't help anyone or anything. If you really care about changing your environment, you have to be able to speak their language first. They get sophisticated with analysis about who owns who and how much, but frankly I see it as a way to stand out and be famous in this blog and internet based world. What would she have done if that medium weren't existent. Would she have gone door to door and handed in her photo to observant muslim women and men to underline her position. It wasn't a well thought out tactic insofar as her goal will not be achieved by posting pictures. And that's if we don't want to be cynical and say that this was her intention. Conclusion: I grant her no merit. (sorry for my longwinded comment)
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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 20111117 13:41.

We Arabs generally  has misconception of freedom/liberty , as a matter of fact there is no absolute freedom or liberty worldwide .. there are always  limitations  and red borders we can't ignore .
 One more thing this girl  in my opinion  is still young and not mature enough (emotionally and rationally) to judge and evaluate what she has gone through . I am 100% confident , when ,she reaches 25+ yrs she will regret what she have done ...
 on the other hand the reaction from some viewers was so shocking in terms of words and phrases , it contains a lot of awkward and nasty expressions , which reflects mal and sick personalities.
 We should stand by this naive girl  and give her emotional and psychological support to enable her overcome this ordeal.
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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 20111117 20:28.

Your stance is unsupportable.
 You argue that there are "limitations ... we can't ignore". The Arab world you seek to explain is a prejudiced world. Simple concept  "Prejudiced".
 She will not be embarrassed at 25  she will be like all "Unprejudiced" people, cognizant of her actions today, proud of her stance to advance human rights. There is a strong liklihood her voice will be even stronger and more determined in several years. Good for this person who seeks to express to people such as yourself that they choose not to be nontransparent, opaque, oppressive, angry, and threatening; suppressive of society at large for the sake of conspiratorial power.
 She will never need emotional or psychological help  she is already healthy  you and the society you try to explain are not.

SHE IS FANTASTIC, BRAVE AND A LEADER. Your world needs more real leaders... I cannot APPLAUD her voice and her points more.
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Submitted by Laila Alawneh (not verified) on Thu, 20111117 20:18.

I must disagree with you, I think when she gets older she would regret that she is not as impulsive as she is now, I am 100% sure she is proud of herself, I know I am proud of her, I am 33 years old and I wish I have half of the courage this young girl has, she invoked so much traffic to her blog because what she did is important, all the visitors know that, she is the only one who regards it as self expression. Our culture has suffocated us as human beings, and stripped our souls from the human inside us, I am an arab, and when I look at the beauty of this girls approach it wakes up all the senses in me to how ruthless this cultural prison has become to us, the culture became more important than the people, it doesn't serve us to have a better life anymore, instead we grieve in our sadness and grow agrression towards an awaking shock to our Consciousness, to value ourselves as human beings and our brothers and sisters in this suppressive society that made us hate each other!

I am very proud of you Aliaa, I hope there will be more of your kind.
 with love,
 Laila from Jordan
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Submitted by Shurooq Amin (not verified) on Thu, 20111117 00:31.

Well done Aliaa. Make a difference, woman. I salute you. Your response to your attackers was classy, wellthought out, intelligent, and perfectly logical. Indeed, let them look at themselves in the mirror naked, if they can handle it. You're just being yourself and expressing yourself, yet at the same time, you're opening up dialogues, liberating minds, unshackling those mindforged manacles of men. Let's change this world, one person at a time. Bravo.
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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 20111116 22:43.

i believe her intent is simply to attract attention with sex being the simplest tool to use but unfortunately such action has destroyed her image as society in Middle East is a conservative one.
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Submitted by marco (not verified) on Wed, 20111116 21:20.

It is disappointing that a Lebanese blogger could say:
 "The regime takes advantage of such incidents to portray revolutionaries as a group of people who went to Tahrir Square to pursue emotional and sexual relationships, rather than oust a tyrant," he wrote.

Now this could be likely to happen, if we consider the nature of societies in a muslim majority country, which is subject to certain standards and values when it comes to sexuality.

But at the same time, it is kind of stupid to justify such a low propaganda from the regime, 'cause it is like believing in Santa Claus, and therefore asserting that 80 million of Egyptians are eager to pay attention to fairy tales.
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Submitted by Mend (not verified) on Wed, 20111116 13:11.

"The nature of the society that we live" implies that normative values and cultural constituents are fixed and not subject to the possibility of change. Using such a phrase only helps to justify the radically oppressive conditions towards the body of today's Egypt, and perhaps much of the Arab world. That isn't to say that the West provides a model to be pursued. And I'm not arguing in favour of notions of hyperindividualism and neoliberal values. Rather my argument is that we shouldn't forget that normative values are just as constructed as the political and religious parties that reinforce them. Culture on the other hand changes like our bodies change.
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Submitted by some one (not verified) on Wed, 20111116 03:05.

thanks writing about here . but Arabian insulting here and this is the original page for here and she ask helping, i am one of here friends if you wanna to help here you can
 if you do not believe me you can translate some of the page and see by your self
 this is the orginal page
 http://www.facebook.com/aliaa.magda.elmahdy.blog
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Submitted by karim hari (not verified) on Wed, 20111116 02:47.

again sex drug`s and rock n roll. This is what arab needs most. So you target the animal instincts of human to get a popular base together before election. But now it`s crystal clear. You are all brainwashed.