Trigger Warning: Horrified by what happened to Lara Logan in Egypt *title edited by MNHQ*

[slidingdoorsmoments]

This happened in 2011, but I have only just seen a video about it. It has utterly horrified me. Lara Logan was reporting on protests in Egypt, when the camera broke. Her colleague, who spoke the local language realised very quickly that she was in trouble, as he heard the crowds of men starting to talk about attacking Lara. He desperately tried to get her away from the mob, but she was dragged in to the crowd, and up to 200 men ripped all her clothes off, and then raped her and beat her with flagpoles. They then tried to rip her arms and legs off, and tried to rip her scalp off. She was eventually rescued, almost dead, by a crown of women and soldiers. These were muslim men.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGep7a71U/

I find it terrifying, that a group of men would all want to be so violent towards a woman, and not one thought that what they were doing, was wrong/should be stopped.

These are men who insist that women are covered at all times, who insist in no sex before marriage, and it makes me wonder whether they have deprived themselves of being around women, and then when they see one, they just lose all control. As far as I know, nothing like this has happened in the West, where women and sex are (for want of a better phrase) freely available.

Apparently, a high percentage of Egyptian men freely admit that they have sexually assaulted women, which seems at odds with men insisting that women are covered and not allowed sexual freedom.

The whole thing is just awful. That poor lady.

It's not because they are deprived of sex. Rape isn't about sex. Nor is attempted murder. It's about power, control and cruelty. In a highly misogynistic society like that they use it to punish women who step out of line. It's a form of domestic terrorism against women.
They force women to cover up in order to limit their freedom, opportunities and keep them controlled. Rape is not at all at odds with this belief system. Quite the opposite.
It isn't just Muslim men. For example, these kind of attacks happen in India a lot. We just don't hear about most of them because terrorist attacks against women aren't considered newsworthy.
Life is utter hell for women in the third world. Men in the first world either don't care or like it. Many watch porn videos of these rapes. When a woman is raped and murdered in India, her name becomes the most searched item on porn sites. Let that sink in. Millions of men are jerking off to snuff films.
I suppose there are some men who hate this, but obviously, not nearly enough of them. Yet they wonder why we are so angry.

Male violence against women knows no boundaries, awful cases like this one happen everywhere, there have been thousands and thousands all over the world since this one in 2011.

-The World Health Organisation report that Across their lifetime, 1 in 3 women, around 736 million, are subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner

-The Australian PM recently called male violence 'an epidemic'.

-Men’s violence against women is a leading cause of the premature death for women

-In the UK, a woman is killed by a man approximately every 3 days

And yes, it's sometimes perpetrated by men who have strong ideas about how women should behave, and prey on women who stray outside their narrow definitions of what's 'appropriate'.

But lots of men from 'liberal' societies also beat up, rape or kill women because they are women.
.Who the man is or what the woman is, is secondary.

I think for many people it is an inconvenient truth when men from non white / muslim countries rape and kill women so nobody wants to talk about it. The bbc is largely left wing men who are terrified of any taint of supposed racism being attached to their name should they report on such atrocities. Plus men will always protect and prioritise men over women.
The truth reported in a factual manner is not racist. Societies where women’s clothing and conduct are controlled are by their very nature places where women are seen as less than men. Rape is the punishment for daring to step out of line.
Misogyny is as old and as detestable as racism but standing up against it is far less popular and fashionable.

That particular behaviour in Egypt (Circle of Hell) was specifically encouraged/incited by the Egyptian security services as a way of breaking up protests/ensuring women couldn't participate in protests (clever because to be succesful mass protests/popular uprisings need to include a range of people, men, women, children). It then spread until it was a thing that people do. Mass sexual assault in Egypt - Wikipedia

No wonder really that Laura Logan went all right wing.

It's men. Groups of men. Men from pretty much any country or culture, who think they can get away with it. Not just Muslim men, Indian men, 'other' men. This case in Spain, for example: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/23/wolf-pack-case-spain-feminism-far-right-vox

So, in one sense that behaviour wasn't about sex. It was very clearly created as a way of keeping women of the streets/out of social and political life and was about power and holding on to power. For the individuals involved however it probably was about sex, and enjoying hurting somebody.

There is a part of me that would punish this behaviour with such barbarity that most men would be too terrified to even look funny at a woman.

@slidingdoorsmoments . Edited as responding to wrong poster. In 2011 men raped Lara, not Islam. A cynical person might feel this is an interestingly timed post. Are you planning to vote Reform?

Its also in-group out-group.
Lots of men will say they are horrified at the thought of rape and would step in to help a woman. Most of them believe that and aren't lying. If a woman from an "in group" (sister, friend etc) is being attacked by a stranger most men will step in. Even if the woman and the man are both strangers, many men will try to help (e.g. girl on bus being assaulted by another random). But if the woman is "out group" and the man is "in group" most men WON'T step in and may even join in themselves. Who the in-group and out-group are changes of course.

If you want another example of this read the UK/foreign media articles on Steven Van de Velde. Then use google translate to read the Dutch language articles on the same topic. Or look at the reaction of his team mates/the Dutch NOC. And the Netherlands and Britain are not at war with each other or considered vastly different culturally. But English children still count for less even though they would never admit it.

If you want to be really depressed, most of the Dutch Olympic committee board are women. Also remember the Russian woman who gave permission to her husband to rape Ukrainian women. That's why I think feminism matters - its thinking that ALL women and girls deserve to be protected from sexual assault not just our team.

The report of a 16 year old girl being raped and suffocated on a migrant boat in view of her mother and many others is another example of the horror that girls / wimin face in countries ruled by systems that elevate men's rights and privilege above wimins rights .

I'm watching Sorayas story about a stoning in Iran because she refused a divorce and resulting destitution when her husband decided he wanted to marry a 14 year old .

It's important that these things are reported even though they are uncomfortable to read

Bloody hell, what is WRONG with some men? 5 men and no one thought this was wrong. How weird as well, that they would prefer to have sex together with an unattractive woman, more than they would want sex on their own with a "hot" woman. What's that about? I honestly don't get it. And one was a Police Officer!

Fucking hell, is all I have to say on this.

No, I am not voting for Reform.

My reference to religion, is that religious people are supposed to be good and respectable aren't they? Which this flies in the face of.

I can't imagine how terrifying these events must have been, for these women.

I would bring back the lethal injection for this.

You don't have to go back to 2011 or travel to Egypt.

Gang rape is happening every day here in the U.K. in places like Rochdale, to children and carried out by grooming gangs.

No one really think religious people are better and more respectable than non religious people, do they?

This is why so many women chose the bear.

Of course. But the extra details here are beyond frightening - attacked by 200 men, trying to rip off her scalp, arms, legs...

My reference to religion, is that religious people are supposed to be good and respectable aren't they? Which this flies in the face of.

I would have thought that all the hundreds if not thousands of cases of sexual abuse of children by Christian clergy - not laypeople, actual clergy - had put paid to the idea that religious people are good and respectable. Some religious people are good and respectable. Some are a danger to women and children..
Male religious people have shown themselves to be just as risky as as other men when it comes to being rapists and predators.

Fucking hell.

That's horrific. And commonplace.

You should hear about women in Afghanistan.

They're regularly publicly tortured for basically wanting a different life.

These women used to be able to hold down a job, gain an education, speak, use their mind, wear pretty much what they want.

Now, under Taliban rule all this has been taken away. The men have said "women only have half a brain".

Women who have tried to say otherwise have been gang raped, publicly tortured, stoned while still alive then run over, often stoned first then dragged through the streets covered in blood then petrol burned alive. Their bodies left in the street as a warning.

All in the name of "religion". Their Islam religion.

Men are fucking monsters.

We have no idea what we're up against.

Well they purport to be purer, don't they? Women in western dress, like mini skirts, or tops showing cleavage are seen as tarts, whereas women in Muslim countries are all covered up and saved for marriage, as they are "respectable" women.

And yet, the whole time, the men actually DO want sex with a woman in western dress, when they see one.

Sorry, I'm not articulating myself very well.

I mean, if these men actually want more sex, why don't they allow their women all of the freedoms that we have, and then they would have much more access to women and sex.

Can you even imagine us here making all the men cover up, and save themselves for marriage? It would be so disappointing. Single women would be saying "Whose bright idea was this?"

To all of you saying this happens everywhere - did you actually read the OP? Up to 200 men ripped a woman's clothes off, beat her with poles, raped her, tried to pull off her arms, legs and scalp.

No, this does not happen every day. Not even in Rochdale.

Awful, dreadful, appalling things happen to women and girls both inside and outside personal relationships, but this was extreme. And we are quite entitled to analyse how and why such a monstrous thing could happen, what are the circumstances that allowed it to happen. This includes looking at information about the perpetrators, however uncomfortable that makes you feel.

Fact are welcome here, as far as I've observed. Let's see...

I remember this from when it happened. It was the darker face of the ‘Arab Spring’, which was hailed as a new start for the Middle East. There is actually a specific term for this sort of attack ‘Taharrush’ . Of course, it’s a way to keep women under control, out of public spaces.

A ‘milder’ but still horrible version took place in Koln on New Years Eve 2025/16, and in several other German cities. I cancelled my Guardian subscription when they were the last British newspaper to admit that it had occurred (and then minimised the impact).