Photo: Women attend a demonstration in Deraa on April 15. Credit: Associated Press
Photo: Women attend a demonstration in Deraa on April 15. Credit: Associated Press
Sounds like there is some degree of organization, maybe not as organized as Badawie likes to think when comparing to 1980’s. Because others will be. Also, Bashar, despite being a dictator & his alliance of convenience w/ IRI, is still a secularist.
Actually, not much has changed since the 80’s. Back then the Khomeinist revolution in Iran, aided by the left against so-called “western imperialism”, awakened the pro- Islamist sentiments & movements. This time it seems the protesters have been emboldened by recent events in Tunisia, Egypt & the bombing of Libya.
Some 31 yrs ago in Iran, they were making same noises (democracy & freedom). They too thought the system was ‘outdated’. Millions of Iranian women, from all walks of life, actively participated in the ‘revolution’ too. Back then, in Iran at least, it seemed that the unrest was spontaneous, was taking place continually, but in pockets. It wasn’t until much later that it became known the unrest & subsequent revolution had been planned, by certain grps, for at least 7 yrs prior to reaching its height.
I’m very skeptical of these protests. The situation is very complicated & varies depending on the country in that region. No doubt some, as they did in Iran, genuinely want to see democracy & freedom. Tho, in that region, democracy & freedom are culturally dependent, same goes for ‘women’s rights’. You can’t change the culture quickly or easily; it'll be an ongoing process, not a revolutionary event. They won’t be seeing that for at least a couple of decades, if ever, and would very much depend on who & what takes the place of the current regime. Good luck to them.