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.

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?

Just to clarify - why do you assume that this traumatised rape victim is 'unattractive'? Why do you think that sexual assault is EVER about the way a woman looks? It is about power and humiliation not grades of attractiveness.

This shit is fucking terrible enough without speaking about victims in such a thoughtless way.

I’ve read up a little and apparently someone shouted that she was an Israeli Jew, which caused the initial violence to explode.

So antisemitism as well.

Grooming gangs happen wherever males think they can get off with it, and will target anyone vulnerable.

When I was a girl - in the '60s - I was groomed by a group of teenage boys. I was 7. I got off lightly. My best friend (8) was actually raped several times, though I don't think she ever admitted to herself that she was raped.

This was Scotland. All the high school boys involved in this were pasty white.

Of course, we'd all been warned about strange men. No one warned us about our neighbours.

A former colleague of mine, an Egyptian woman and journalist, was attacked in Tahrir square when she was covering the unrest, and sexually assaulted, possibly raped (i don't think she wants to confirm either way). She was also arrested by the police, jailed and sexually assaulted there too.
It's males or men, it's always them and it's just them.

it makes me wonder whether they have deprived themselves of being around women, and then when they see one, they just lose all control.

This isn’t why they rape and hurt women. This is giving them an excuse. It is because they do not see women as equal human beings. They are there to be controlled and abused in a patriarchal society.

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).

They didn't just minimise it they went into full on victim blame mode, the women were dressed as western women are on a night out, free to be able to go out at night and most egregiously of all had mobile phones. The men doing the attacking just couldn't help themselves due to that. It was the most appalling piece of misogyny and victim blaming.

This thread has made me want to bundle my daughters up and keep them safe with me forever. It’s beyond atrocious that women are have to live in fear of men.

See also India, where (inconveniently for some) the offenders tend to be hindu https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/04/india/india-gang-rape-tourist-arrests-intl-hnk/index.html

I complained to the Guardian about that revolting Gaby Hinsliff article that you're referencing, in which she talked about the 'lucky young women' who owned 'expensive smartphones'. Absolutely revolting and horrendous. The Guardian never responded, of course.

This, it’s exactly the same mindset that marries young barely pubescent girls to very old men, not only in some Muslim countries but in white radical Bible bashing sects in the US, like some Mormon branches or more extreme Christian minority religions. They really do not see women as human beings with feelings, opinions and rights.

See also, what (mostly Canadian) "peacekeepers" did in the Balkans following the war there. There was a horrifying film about it (Whistleblower) but that actually underplayed the reality out of necessity. And actually quite a large number of other UN based scandals. The worst thing about those - its not just some evil men doing something evil. Its an absolutely massive number of people who know something terrible is going on, literally see the most horrific things with their own eyes and have the power to stop it but choose not to. Its how those mass rapes can happen because you will have a swirling mass of literally hundreds of men. Some of them are just pulling of clothes, some are committing the rape, some are just part of the mob and will whine later they didn't do anything (except physically block rescuers with their bodies).

I knew about this incident at the time, it was reported on the news, it was shocking. I never forgot it. As an aside Lara looked to be wearing a full t shirt and combat type trousers.

As a young woman in Paris years ago, the North African men gave me creeps, they would grin at you as they approached you, it was that fucking grin that was my cue to exit fast, it was constant. I was nearly raped a couple of times. So when I saw the Lara headline I knew exactly what the dynamic was, they did not like a young attractive female having the authority of being a reporter. Her job in their minds is to be freely available because she is a western woman. They cannot get their heads around western womens roles, it all has to revolve around covered/submissive and/or what the men want from them.

That was what was in the Guardian report linked to by exexpat today at 10:12.

"Long before the wolf pack trial began, it seemed most Spaniards had already reached their own verdicts. For months, they had pored over the men’s WhatsApp conversations – both text and audio – which had been leaked to the press and posted online. Many predated the Pamplona festival visit, and seemed to suggest a level of premeditation. “Mate seriously, if the five of us all fucked a fat girl together at San Fermin, it would be the best thing ever. I’d rather fuck a fat girl with all of you than a hot one by myself,” one of the men had said."

Yes I have already read this.

I will still take issue with the OP labelling a rape victim 'unattractive' for no reason whatsoever and wondering why her rapists would not want to be with a 'hot' girl instead.
Rape is not about attractiveness. It is about male power and brutality.

Horrific

Afghanistan used to be on the Hippie trail.

Western Women used to feel relief when they had entered Afghanistan after the hell for women that was Pakistan.

The old travellers said Pakistan was a nightmare to pass as a woman, but Afghanistan was a relief.

There was a very interesting video on the Hippie trail where a young blonde girl had embraced the ''free love'' aspect of the 1960's and had fallen I'm love with a local tribesman in the Pakistan area and become one of his wives.
Someone from that era said she had been killed.

The blonde girl was very pretty {she was in the video}

Old comment from the video is ''Fabulous to see this.. very sad in places .Afghanistan may one day be ''safe'' to go to again, but probably not for many decades. Wonder what became of the pretty Blonde Dutch girl....? [won't do a ''spoiler'' for people reading the comments] The Belgian girl looked like a Pre-Raphaelite..tragically early death.

This was not said about the victim. It was a general discussion around the type of sex they prefer. At least read the article, before having a go at me. Sigh.

The OP did not do that.

She was quoting the men, the disgusting attitude is theirs, not hers.

Direct your ire at the right target.

The OP wasn’t even referring to the rape victim.

I complained to the Guardian about that revolting Gaby Hinsliff article that you're referencing, in which she talked about the 'lucky young women' who owned 'expensive smartphones'. Absolutely revolting and horrendous. The Guardian never responded, of course.

Me too. They also lied blatantly about the number of victims in a report and only corrected themselves after lots of complaints, in the BTL comments where it wouldn't be seen by most readers. I was already fed up with them over their coverage of trans issues and this was the final straw for me.

Egyptian men are not deprived of women or sex. Their wedding entertainers/dancers are barely wearing any clothes and their media isn't restricted like the middle east. Egypt is also a sex tourist for many of the Arab world just like Morocco. It's not Yemen or Saudi were women are hidden away from the public. Egypt is known for having a huge problem with sexual assault and harassment of women regardless of how she is dressed, she could be covered from head to toe and she'll still get harassed, many documantaries are made where the women express how hard it is to leave the house and even young boys have learned that behaviour and will follow a woman in public. Many women have resorted to carrying some type of a weapon to hit men with when they are groped in public. Extreme porn hasn't helped, the developing world is seeing more gang rapes of women and little girls but also brutally attacking them after and in some cases dismembering them.

I mean, why?? I just cannot get my head around it.

It’s making me think of rape in war. Seemingly normal men who go off to war and then rape women. Wtf?

The Graun was already on my shit list, and it has stayed there.

I think what you are missing is that the OP is fucking furious.

But yes, prob best to leave the thread if you would rather chastise women for being angry about male violence.

The more I read, the more I realise the default seems to be that men actually hate women.