**July 22, 2013**

**Joint Statement from Organizations and Associations in West Asia and North Africa: No to the Exclusion and Intimidation of Women Demonstrators in Egypt!**

First, we extend our greetings to the Egyptian women who have not been silent about the egregious violations they are subjected to. Second, we send our heartfelt greetings and solidarity to the survivors. Finally, we address Arab feminist and women’s organizations in particular, and human rights organizations in general, requesting their signature on the following declaration in solidarity with the Egyptian women demonstrators and activists who are breaking the barriers of silence and violence that envelop our bodies and lives.

Since the beginning of the revolution, women demonstrators in Egypt have been subjected to the most heinous forms of violations and systematic sexual violence aimed at excluding them from the public sphere and denying their right to effective political participation, and thus isolating them from their right to express themselves and engage in successive revolutionary waves and work to change their conditions and demand all their rights. We, the undersigned, are fully aware of the dominance of a patriarchal society that seeks to exclude women entirely from political life and active citizenship. We know that what happened to our sisters in Egypt are not isolated incidents, but rather a pattern of sexual intimidation aimed at humiliation and, consequently, keeping women away from the streets and squares of Egypt.

We, women, activists, and human rights organizations from the region, want to add our voices to the voices of our sisters who stand alone in the face of these brutal attacks, while political and revolutionary forces turn their backs on the ongoing physical and psychological trauma of more than 186 women who have been subjected to mass sexual harassment and rape in Tahrir Square and its surrounding areas from June 30 to July 7, 2013. We also condemn the media blackout that conceals the sexual terrorism perpetrated against Egyptian women demonstrators, while political parties try to pass through the wounds of our sisters to pass political agendas and settle scores with the Muslim Brotherhood, which in turn did not shy away from using these attacks against its opposing forces.

Accordingly, we call on all national and revolutionary forces, including parties, movements, and especially the National Salvation Front and the Tamarod movement, to assume their revolutionary and national responsibilities by placing this issue at the top of the priorities for the next stage. We emphasize our support for the demands raised by women’s organizations in their joint statement on June 3, 2013*, most notably:

• Holding the Egyptian authorities responsible for investigating incidents of assaults and rapes against women and bringing those responsible to justice.
• Providing appropriate, effective, prompt, and adequate means of redress, including the rehabilitation of survivors, encompassing medical and psychological care, as well as legal and social services in accordance with international human rights law.

We urge the Egyptian authorities to immediately assume their legal responsibility towards survivors of sexual violence!

Long live every survivor of harassment, every steadfast woman, and every courageous woman who came out to expose the actions of harassers.

Long live the struggle of Egyptian women.

* http://nazra.org/node/243

Everyone is invited to send a copy of this statement to the Egyptian embassy where you are located on July 22, 2013. We will also send it to the relevant human rights offices at the United Nations.

**Signatories:**

1. Kayan Feminist Organization – Haifa
2. Organization for Women’s Empowerment – Iraq
3. KAOS GL (Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association) – Turkey
4. Mauritanian Association for Maternal and Child Health – Mauritania
5. Association of the Center for Gender Equality Policies and Community Development – Turkey
6. Arab Women’s Association in Jordan – Jordan
7. Al-Aman Association for Women’s Development (Marrakech) – Morocco
8. National Association Najdeh Women in Distress – Algeria
9. Arab Forum for Sexuality of the Individual and the Family – Palestine
10. Algerian Women’s Association for Development (AFAD) – Algeria
11. Tunisian Association of Democratic Women – Tunisia
12. Federation of the Democratic League for Women’s Rights, Ouarzazate Branch – Morocco
13. Lebanese Democratic Women’s Gathering – Lebanon
14. Palestinian Feminist Forum, Haifa – Palestine
15. National Association Women in Contact – Algeria
16. General Union of Palestinian Women – Palestine
17. Al-Adala Center for Human Rights – Saudi Arabia
18. Akon for Rights and Freedoms – Yemen
19. Ro’ya for Feminist Studies – Sudan
20. Women and Homeland Association – Tunisia
21. Algerian Women Demanding Their Rights – Algeria
22. The Omani Association for Human Rights – Oman
23. Bahrain Center for Human Rights – Bahrain
24. Musawat Organization – Syria
25. Women’s Voices Group – Lebanon
26. Bussy Project to Document and Present Stories of Women from Egyptian Society – Egypt
27. Feminist Group – Lebanon
28. KAFA (Enough) Violence & Exploitation – Lebanon
29. Research and Training Group for Development Action – Lebanon
30. Together We Build It – Libya
31. Women’s Organization in the League of the Sons of Yemen Party (Ra’y) Aden – Yemen
32. Baghdad Women’s Association – Iraq
33. Institute of Women’s Studies – Birzeit University – Palestine
34. Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling – Palestine
35. Women’s Studies Center – Palestine
36. Moroccan Association for the Defense of Women’s Rights – Morocco
37. Democratic Association of Women of Morocco – Morocco
38. Aquarium Theater Association – Morocco
39. Syrian Women’s Network – Sweden
40. Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy – Yemen
41. Falastiniyat Association – Palestine
42. Yemeni Feminist Movement – Yemen
43. Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID)
44. Women’s Fund of the Mediterranean – Middle East
45. Women’s Solidarity Organization for Learning for Rights, Development, and Peace
46. League of Women Heads of Households – Mauritania
47. Women’s Uprising in the Arab World – Arab World
48. CWLRCP – Gaza – Palestine
49. Women’s Affairs Center – Gaza – Palestine
50. Harka o Manchoufouch- Morocco
51. Woman is a National Issue – Jordan
52. No Honor in Crime – Jordan
53. Zqaq Association – Lebanon
54. Legal Agenda – Lebanon
55. Bahia ya Masr Movement – Egypt
56. Haqqi Alayya Movement – Lebanon
57. Kurdish Women’s Democratic Movement (30 Associations and Centers – Names in English Section)
58. 56 Activists from Iran (Names in English Section)
59. Socialist Forum – Lebanon
60. Women for Women’s Human Rights – Turkey
61. Alsiwar – The Arab Feminist Movement to Support Victims of Sexual Assaults – Haifa
62. Women of Hope Movement for a Better Future – Morocco
63. Union of Women’s Action – Morocco
64. Socialist Women’s Bodies – Turkey
65. Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies – Regional
66. Turkish Women’s Association – Turkey
67. Working Woman’s Society for Development – Palestine
68. Syrian Women’s League – Syria
69. Alliance for Women of Tunisia – Tunisia
70. Fimale Association – Lebanon
71. Association Women Against Violence – Palestine
72. “Salma” Network to Combat Violence Against Women in the Arab Region

**The Thirty Associations Signed Under the Women’s Peace and Democracy Movement in Kurdistan/Turkey:**

1. BERFİN WOMAN CENTER
2. DERSİM LİFE WOMAN CENTER
3. BİNAEVŞ WOMAN CENTER
4. JINWAR WOMAN CENTER
5. MAYA WOMAN CENTER
6. İŞTAR WOMAN CENTER MİZGİN WOMAN CENTER
7. NUJİYAN WOMAN CENTER
8. NUJEN WOMAN CENTER
9. PELJİN WOMAN CENTER
10. GÜLŞİLAW WOMAN CENTER
11. SİTİYA ZİN WOMAN CENTER
12. MEYA WOMAN CENTER
13. KARDELEN WOMAN CENTER
14. BERJİN AMARA KADIN WOMAN CENTER
15. EKİN CEREN WOMAN CENTER
16. URFA LİFE HOUSE CENTER
17. WOMAN SUPPORT CENTER (KADEM)WOMAN EDUCATION – PSYCHOLOGICAL
18. REHABILITATION CENTER (EPİDEM(
19. GÖKKUŞAĞI WOMAN ASSOCIATION
20. KİBELE WOMAN ASSOCIATION
21. BATMAN SELİS WOMAN ASSOCIATION
22. DİYARBAKIR SELİS WOMAN ASSOCIATION
23. ERGANİ SELİS WOMAN ASSOCIATION
24. ZİLAN WOMAN ASSOCIATION
25. CEREN WOMAN ASSOCIATION
26. ADIYAMAN LIFE CENTER ASSOCIATION
27. KİBELE WOMAN ASSOCIATION
28. VAN MUNICIPALITY WOMAN ISSUES RESEARC CENTER (VAKASUM(
29. DİYARBAKIR METROPOLITIAN WOMAN ISSUES RESEARC CENTER (DİKASUM(
30. BAGLAR WOMAN COOPERATİVE

**Signatories from Iran:**

1. Azadeh Faramarziha
2. Zeynab Alsadat Peyghambarzadeh
3. Raha Askarizade
4. Nikzad Zangeneh
5. Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh
6. Rezvan Moghaddam
7. Kaveh Kermanshah
8. Nahid Mirhaj
9. Leila Asadi
10. Masoumeh Zamani
11. Sima Hosseinzadeh
12. Ali Abdi
13. Ayda Abrufarakh
14. Mona Mohamadzade
15. Maryam Ahari,
16. Elahé Chokraie
17. Nayereh Tohidi
18. Maryam Rahmani
19. Firoozeh Mohaje
20. , Ehtram Shadfar
21. Arsalan Kahnemuyipour
22. Kaveh Rezaei
23. Razi Razavi
24. Mali Ansary
25. Mitra Saffari
26. Mehri Malaekeh
27. Maryam Zandi
28. Raha Bahrein
29. Haydeh Tabesh
30. Sarah Arshadi
31. Mani Arshadi Shamsi
32. Farnaz Kamal
33. Soudeh Rad
34. Osez Le Féminisme
35. Sabri Najafi
36. Sholeh Irani
37. Magazine Avaye Zan,
38. Fataneh Farahani
39. Saghar Qyasi
40. Parvin Ardal,
41. Sahar Sadjadi
42. Amir Yaghoubali
43. Leyli Behbahani
44. Khadijeh Moghadda
45. , Nariman Rahimi
46. Mahboubeh Mohebbi
47. Fatemeh Masjedi
48. Nahid Jafari
49. Delaram Ali
50. Elnaz Ansari
51. Ensieh Salmani
52. Sabra Rezae
53. Niloofar Ensan
54. Hoda Aminian
55. Roja Bandari
56. Hamideh Nezami