Mona Eltahawy Reportedly Detained, Sexually Assaulted In Egypt

Mona Eltahawy, a prominent U.S.-based Egyptian journalist, reported that she was detained, beaten, and sexually assaulted by Egyptian security forces Wednesday night while reporting on the protests that have gripped Cairo over the past week.

On Thursday morning, Eltahawy began describing her ordeal in a series of tweets on her Twitter account.

She reported that she had been been detained for 12 hours by the interior ministry and military intelligence, during which time she was sexually assaulted by five or six men. "5 or 6 surrounded me, groped and prodded my breasts, grabbed my genital area and I lost count how many hands tried to get into my trousers," she tweeted.

She spent hours blindfolded before finally being released with an apology from military intelligence but no explanation for why she was detained.

After visiting the hospital, she said that her left arm and right hand were broken and tweeted a photo of her casts.

"The past 12 hrs were painful and surreal but I know I got off much much easier than so many other Egyptians," she wrote.

A representative of the U.S. embassy in Cairo told The Guardian that Eltahawy's detention was "very concerning" and that "U.S. embassy consulate officers are engaging Egyptian authorities."

Eltahawy is a freelance journalist based in New York who has written for such publications as The Guardian, The Washington Post, and the International Herald Tribune. She has also blogged for The Huffington Post.

Comments

[Vapula]

03:59 AM on 11/28/2011

So what?

[nofaith]

01:54 PM on 11/27/2011

If you don't wan't to get burned, stay out of the fire!

[donnycam1]

07:55 AM on 11/27/2011

Please leave this open for the real victims in the region

[Hamburger Time]

12:59 AM on 11/27/2011

This woman appears to have made a career out of giving tawdry details of her alleged sexual assault at the hands of the 'enemy of the month'. Among others, she claimed Gaddafi's men *twisted her nipple* whilst she pleaded with the Leader for help.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/31/libyas_eman_al_obeidi_remains_missing

Sexual assault is vile, but capitalizing on false claims of sexual assault is even more so. This woman is being paid to dehumanize 'the enemy' for a Western audience. The enemy, that is, of Washington, Telaviv, and Wall Street.

[calluna]

02:53 PM on 11/27/2011

She was talking about an event that took place in 1996.

"I was there in 1996 with a group of journalists who were taken over from Cairo to Libya. And because I tried to escape from the minders and leave the hotel by myself, I was branded a troublemaker. And during a news conference with Gaddafi, one of his male guards twisted my nipple, in the middle of the news conference. I appealed to Gaddafi for help; he did absolutely nothing. And then I learned that other journalists heard them say, "Just shoot her." So, this is just an example of the kind of violence that the Gaddafi regime and the thugs from the Ministry of Information just kind of mete out, as we saw in the video."

[KidSampson]

05:45 PM on 11/27/2011

And you know these claims are false...how?

[frameofmind]

09:17 PM on 11/27/2011

Yeah right, like the cops are any better over here! What a laugh, lol......

[lgtaper]

01:08 AM on 11/28/2011

for sure

[frameofmind]

10:38 PM on 11/27/2011

They seem to be worse in Israel, gee what a surprise, not!

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?R=R1&ID=247087

[cadacabezaunmundo]

07:58 AM on 11/26/2011

She was groped in the breast and genital areas and lost count of how many times someone tried to get into her trousers. Also, an arm and a hand were broken.

Question for the ladies: Which is worse, being groped on top of your clothing in the breast and genital area and suffering 'attempts' to get into your trousers, or having an arm and a hand fractured?

[YankeeCanuck]

01:50 PM on 11/27/2011

"Ladies" do not usually rate the levels of assault. It is all violence, all about control and power.

[Yank in France]

09:28 AM on 11/28/2011

I agree with YankeeCanuck, although he/she is a much nicer person than I. So let me put the question back at ya: Do you prefer sniffing model airplane glue or gasoline more?

[cadacabezaunmundo]

08:24 PM on 11/28/2011

The headline was about a sexual assault. The two fractures were mentioned incidentally, almost as an afterthought. From the description of the assault, it would seem to me that the fractures were more significant.

[GlennMihwa]

07:07 AM on 11/26/2011

I've scheduled a groping for next Tuesday. Dress is casual. One of the main problems in Egypt is the rediculously silly names people have there. It causes them to be extremely angry at each other.

[sepuck]

11:46 PM on 11/25/2011

I really do not understand why people are supprised at this if indeed it happened as she claim. For it happened before the Arab spring, why would it not happen after. Just because you get rid of a corrupt leader and replace it with a military junta does not increase the social sensitivity of the masses. This happens there. If I am not mistaken, thought, you could probably go to any college bar on a friday or saturday night and see women unwantedly touched. If it is because it happened by authorities that is shocking that to happens in police stations and foster home in our civilized country. I think my point is correct the wrongs in your own back yard before taking on someone elses.

[daniel mountaineer]

08:26 AM on 11/26/2011

Drawing a parallel between a woman being manhandled by jail guards and drunk girls being groped at a college bar is totally moronic.

[YankeeCanuck]

01:53 PM on 11/27/2011

Drawing a parallel between sexism,abusive behaviours and misuse of power is not moronic.Nor is pointing out abuse in one's own country in the face of xenophobic comments about countries in turmoil.

[Yank in France]

09:40 AM on 11/28/2011

I faved your remark because, although I like YankeCanuck, I agree with you that there is really NO COMPARISON between the college kid behavior and that seen by people in Tahir Square. Unfortunately, this may involve more than authorities too. Despite the grotesque behavior, I still see the Arab Spring as very positive. Unfortunately, his does not move in a straight line forward but in zigs and zags.

Above all, a movement can be progressive in some ways and utterly backward in others. Women in Mycenaean Greece (c. 1900 BC – c. 1100 BC) enjoyed equal rights in many respects (not all), but the fall of that civilization and the later Doric invasions led to a more militarist Greece and a reversal for women that they would not retrieve until the early to mid 20th century (and even then, that is limited to some Western countries).

History is moving much faster these days, so let's hope that the Egyptians and other emerging countries adapt to the legitimate aspirations of women and others in their population!

[Kanzi]

11:26 PM on 11/25/2011

Egypt suffered from an outrageous culture of sexual harassment, I think the actions of those security men was an extension of this rather than an official policy. Just recently, the nudist female activist was violently expelled from Tahrir square.

[bccmeteorites]

11:12 PM on 11/25/2011

From her photograph you can tell she is really distraught over the whole affair.

[Moti]

12:56 AM on 11/26/2011

With comments like that, 569, really?

[bccmeteorites]

05:16 PM on 11/26/2011

It's possible people see a broader understanding and a deeper meaning in my posts which may be lacking in others. But I have no evidence to back that up, it's just a wild guess.

[daniel mountaineer]

08:28 AM on 11/26/2011

How about we fracture your hand and arm and see how much pleasure you get out of it.

[bccmeteorites]

05:08 PM on 11/26/2011

Whatever make you happy.

[lakeside laffer]

10:28 PM on 11/25/2011

get a look at her...come on..she is making this up.

[Blodo]

11:36 PM on 11/25/2011

And you know this how?

[Mjones2]

12:18 PM on 11/26/2011

So.. she broke her own bones?

[ms.understood]

10:20 PM on 11/25/2011

i'm surprised she even made it out alive. these men are so dispicable. is that all they can think to do with women who are educated and have something going for themselves? i hope she gets some psychological help to get through being violated.

[frameofmind]

09:19 PM on 11/27/2011

I think that's why she is so happy, she made it out alive!!!

[Puck 22]

10:11 PM on 11/25/2011

I call b.s...........these brutal people...they arrested her.....they beat her.......they groped her.........she lost count of how many hands TRIED to get in her trousers?
If the situation was as she attempts to portray it they would have broken her arms had she resisted. I should believe these brutal animals trying to get in her pants backed off in shame or fear when she slapped their hands?
Come on. If you're going to make this nonsense up at least try to be consistent. These people were brutal animals or they were civilized enough to realize when she said 'no' that they should stop. You can't have it both ways

[Veets99]

11:40 PM on 11/25/2011

Sure, blame the violated, cause you know that that kind of stuff never happens.
She was probably doing more than "slapping their hands" at the time.
Next you will cry out "she was showing her ankles in public and they couldn't help themselves".
Because she resisted enough to get a few broken bones, you think they were shamed?
You are one smart cookie.

[Puck 22]

04:39 PM on 11/27/2011

Your letter suggests it is impossible for a woman to lie and therefore there is something wrong with me. I leave it to the average reader to decide. Would you believe a woman who claimed she was raped but also claimed the man who raped her did not kiss her because he respected her right to refuse a kiss on the first date?
You would question those who called bullsh*t on such a claim?
Do you think simply using key words like victim or violated should be enough to justify attempting to shame those who say this doesn't sound realistic?
They arrested her, they beat her, they sexually assaulted her, they repeatedly TRIED to reach into her pants.
QUESTION: How did she stop them?
Did she slap the hands of the people beating her?
Did these animals respect her verbal requests to cease?
Until a realistic answer is provided I will continue to call B.S. on this one.

[LemonGrass2]

10:11 PM on 11/25/2011

Ahhh Egypt: the more things change, the more it stays the same.

[Radx28]

10:11 PM on 11/25/2011

Where exactly is the "freedom" in that? It would seem that we have an entire culture that needs to go back to the drawing board! Somewhere there is a country inside or perhaps even beside those of the "Arab Spring" that can lead the way! It may take generations, but now's the time to start on the arduous journey to convince men that they need consent before reaching into another's pants.