Interviews with Ahmed Samih

The women in Egypt played a very important role. Women activist like Samir Abdel Fattah, like Rasha Azab, and like Mohsin Hassan, like Nihad Abu Al-Umsan, like Shaima Abu Al Khair, like Marwa Mokhtar. I can name to you thousands of names of activists women who been supporting the revolution. Been supporting the power of change into the society, early before the revolution. They been playing an important role in any action we been doing.

When the placed forces drew out from the streets and they kept the streets without protection, woman being– staying in the streets to protect them on the streets in neighborhoods like Zamalek, like Masr al Qadima and like Ma´adi. Staying in the street till the morning. Shifting with other guys and girls to make sure that them own neighborhood is safe and they take responsibility of it.

Women in Egypt– and maybe not in Egypt. Women who are supporting this kind of change movement have very powerful characters. Especially when they are living in a society don´t enhance woman roles. I guess this character is a normal thing for the Egyptian woman.

In the previous revolution, 1919, against occupation– the British occupation, the Egyptian woman played an im– very important role of fighting the occupation. And trying to bring democracy and constitution to Egypt, 1923. And that´s for me is not new. I didn´t stand up in Tahrir Square looking around me and say– “What the womans is doing here?” That was not my main question. My main question is which one of this woman are going to do this next heroic– move? (LAUGH) And it seems that all of them have the capability of doing this.

Ahmed has extensive experience as an organizer and trainer in international programs for human rights education. He has served as a media adviser and director of media observation in a national campaign for monitoring elections in Egypt sponsored by USAID. He has also been a trainer for projects sponsored by the Norwegian Human Rights Fund, such as Supporting NGOs and Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion and Combating Propaganda for War. He is the founder of various organizations: Liberal Youth Seminar sponsored by New Civic Forum, Knowledge Club, and Free Youth Association sponsored by Al JEEL Center for Youth and Social Studies. Currently, Ahmed is the Director of the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies and the director of EGYPT 1st online internet radio.