The story starts in September, 2006, when a group of bloggers decided the time has come for them to speak up and share their own stories and experiences, as well of those of other women, with injustice.

The initiative was launched as follows:

بدأت فكرة “كلنا ليلى” بليلى/ واحدة منا تشكو و تبوح ل/ليلى أخرى ليزيد العدد لثلاثة فخمسة فأكثر من خمسين فتاة و سيدة، لنكتشف أنه على اختلاف خلفياتنا و أفكارنا و أولوياتنا كلنا في النهاية ليلى.
و ليلى هي بطلة رواية بعنوان ” الباب المفتوح” للروائية لطيفة الزيات وقد تحولت تلك الرواية إلى عمل سينمائي يحمل نفس الاسم - قامت ببطولته فاتن حمامة . ليلى هي نموذج للفتاة المصرية التي تتعرض لمواقف حياتية مختلفة في مجتمع يعلى من شأن الرجل ويقلل من شأن المرأة، ولا يهتم لأحلامها أو أفكارها أو ما تريد أن تصنع في حياتها.
ومع ذلك فقد استطاعت ليلى التي تعرضت منذ طفولتها لأشكال مختلفة من التمييز أن تحتفظ بفكرتها الأصيلة عن نفسها وتظل مؤمنة بدورها كإمراة لا تقل أهمية بأي حال من الأحوال عن الرجل سواء في البيت أو في العمل أو في الدراسة أو في العمل العام.

Since then, the campaign has continued annually with huge success - with female bloggers opening their hearts and pouring out their woes, and surprisingly getting support from men.

The following year, We are all Lailawrote:

The result was a different format of posts to mark the day, as well as including men in the conversation.

We are all Laila explains:

This year's We are all Laila day will be commemorated on Egyptian blogs on October 19. Stay tuned for coverage on the day.

Alzahrawi reports:

“Central Cairo was a barrack yesterday to stop a popular campaign that hoped to break the siege on Gaza, security forces cordoned off areas surrounding the Press syndicate. Police officers searched the people in the middle of the streets and banned the access of whoever found participant in the convoy, and for the first time the Egyptian company for the Subway management and operation closed one of its stations downtown to prevent ordinary people from getting mixed or joining the convoy members’ protests, a step that was meant to tighten the security over the entire region.”

He adds:

“On the other hand, In Rafah, Egyptian security arrested more than 100 activist to stop a convoy that managed to reach Salahuddin gate at the Rafah border crossing”

A few hours later, news started to come out about the release of some of the detained activists. Malek confirms in a post on the Hesham Mubarak Law Center blog:

In a phone call with Ghazl el Mahala labor leader Kamal El Fayoumi, blogger Arabawy was told that activists were maltreated and violently assaulted during their detention:

“I spoke with Ghazl el-Mahalla labor leader Kamal el-Fayoumi, who was released around two hours ago. He said he was kidnapped by the police six blocks away from the Press Syndicate around 10am. He was approached by a plainclothes agent who requested his National ID Card, while four other thugs surrounded him. He was taken to a truck with three others, which drove them to Tora's Central Security Forces Camp, south of Cairo. Kamal said he was blindfolded and interrogated by a State Security officer, who slapped him on the face a number of times, punched him in the stomach, while shouting the worst verbal insults. Kamal met at least six other detainees inside who said they faced similar treatment. Around two hours ago, the detainees were taken, split into two groups and thrown out in a remote desert area near Maadi.”

He says:

I chose the six countries in the book because they are routinely referred to in the West as “enemies” or “allies” of Washington and we were rarely gaining true insights into life for average citizens, away from stories about “terrorism”. I wanted to talk to bloggers, writers, dissidents, politicians and citizens and hear their stories, removed from “official” perspectives.

Antony attended the Global Voices Summit 2008 in Budapest as a panelist. You can find several references to Global Voices in his book.

Here, Antony presents his book on You Tube:

I interviewed him about the book:

Q: Before starting your trip to Iran, you wrote that you were skeptical that the internet on its own can bring real revolutionary change to this country. What do you mean by revolutionary change? And what do you think now?

The concept of revolution is a fluid term. I met few people in my travels that wanted great shifts in their country. My book profiles a number of dissidents and bloggers across the globe who are striving for political, social and moral change – including Saudi Arabia’s most famous blogger, Fouad Al-Farhan, recently released from prison for challenging his nation’s nepotistic rule - but they recognize that only a tiny minority of citizens would join them in massive upheavals.

The internet cannot on its own bring large change, but it can facilitate and empower people to find their voice and campaign openly. No technology has existed before the web to do this. I don’t idealise the internet, nor believe Western-style democracy is the goal of people in the countries I visited. Foreign meddling is largely resented, though opening up the lines of communication with Westerners is welcomed.

In Iran, after nearly thirty years of revolution, most young people I met were exhausted; what they don’t want is to be bombed by the US or Israel.

Q: You quoted an Iranian journalist who worked with international news agencies, and said that foreign media in Iran are only interested in nuclear issues and Al–Qaida. Don't you think it is the same in other countries? After all, Iranians are more interested in the US elections than the American health care system. How do you see the role of blogs in covering the less “hot” issues in Iran?

Western media is currently in a massive crisis of confidence. Resources are declining, fewer journalists are being employed and localism is being celebrated. It’s therefore not surprising, though regrettable, that so many stories in our press about a place such as Iran is obsessed with Ahmadinejad, terrorism, Iraq or human rights. These are all vitally important issues, but they don’t define the place.

My book reveals a side of Iran that is rarely seen in our terrorism-obsessed media.

Living in Sydney, Australia, I see daily the obsession with the US election, as if we all have real influence over Barack Obama or John McCain’s campaigns.

Blogs in so-called repressive regimes cover issues that time-constrained and narrow Western journalists usually do not. For this reason alone, they should be discussed and promoted.

Q: Are there any real commonalities between the Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian and Saudi Arabian blogospheres, or any radical differences?

The Iranian and Egyptian blogospheres are large and growing, and influencing the political process. The regimes, recognizing this, are increasingly imprisoning bloggers and activists to try and silence them. International solidarity, from other bloggers and certain governments, is making the job of repressive regimes more difficult. Imprisoned bloggers won’t be forgotten.

I was impressed with the depth and diversity of the voices in both Egypt and Iran, something I feature extensively in the book, from the left to the right, women, activists and Islamists. Frankly, this scene is far more engaged than in many Western nations.

In Saudi Arabia, the blogosphere is less developed though still remains active. Censorship of “pornographic” sites is limited, though the regime is starting to fear the power of activists. Reading female bloggers – as a gender they’re actively marginalized in society – is refreshing if we want to understand this previously “silenced” group.

Q: What were the biggest challenges you faced writing this book and doing your research?

Gaining full access to some of the countries was challenging. Investigating the role of Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and other Western multinational firms and their collusion in web censorship in a state such as China. Protecting my sources was equally important. I took precautions before I contacted bloggers in most countries and when I arrived there.

A key aim of the book was to move away from the traditional role of Western journalist as a filter of quality. In every featured country, my perspective is unavoidable, of course, but I was determined to redefine my position in relation to the people I was interviewing. Their voices were far more important than mine.

Q: What do you think about the role of Global Voices in helping people learn about unheard voices? Any ideas for how to make Global Voices more efficient?

The strength of Global Voices is its ability to educate readers across the world about different countries and cultures, often issues and perspectives ignored by the myopic Western media. Language remains a key problem, however. More effort should be placed into finding connections between the West and the rest because the internet is currently a space where these two worlds rarely interact.

Karim El Behiry reports from the Gharbeia governorate:

Karim continues:

Back to Arabawy who notes the probable cause of the fire could be “electric sparks as the machines were re-started after the holidays. The textile factories of course are full of raw cotton supplies and inflammable materials. Fire spread quickly.”

The series of fires is really fishy, and a conspiracy theory is quite appealing for so many Egyptians, given the recurrence of the severe fires hitting influential/historic Egyptian buildings which started with the Egyptian Parliament on August 19th, 2008, followed by the National Theatre in Cairo.

Linuxawy lists the fires and tries to speculate which building's turn is it next?

He adds:

”

Zeinobia, at Egyptian Chronicles, dedicated a post here to the Egyptian special forces fir their heroic role in the rescue.

I do not know if anyone of them will ever read this but thank you for bringing joy, faith and hope to people who are really missing a lot these days, thank you for standing up as usual as expected when it needed.

Those kidnapped included 11 foreign tourists - five Italians, five Germans and a Romanian - who were snatched in a remote border region of Egypt, which has cave paintings thought to be about 10,000 years old. The region is accessible by desert vehicle from the conflict zones of Darfur and eastern Chad.

Meanwhile, The Arabist links to news sources and announces:

The word is the 19 hostages are now free and healthy.

Writing in The Skeptic, Elijah Zarwan earlier reported:

Sudanese government officials are telling reporters that the Sudanese forces killed six men accused of complicity in the abduction of 11 tourists and eight Egyptian guides after a high-speed chase through the desert. The Sudanese say they captured two people involved, who said that the hostages had been moved to Chad. If all the reports coming out have been true, then the hostages have been moved from Egypt, across the border to Sudan, across the border into Libya, then back into Sudan, and again across the border into Chad.

Egyptian blogger El-Hanem wrote here about today's disaster. She said:

شب حريق في صالة العرض بالمسرح القومي بوسط القاهرة مساء اليوم السبت في وقت يسود فيه الهدوء التام مع استعداد المسلمين لتناول طعام الإفطار بعد غروب الشمس.
وقالت مصدر بالإدارة العامة للدفاع المدني والإطفاء إن النيران بدأت في الاشتعال في نحو الخامسة وخمس وثلاثين دقيقة بتوقيت القاهرة وبدأت بستارة المسرح واستمرت نحو ساعتين ولم تؤد إلى وقوع إصابات باستثناء بعض حالات الاختناق المحدودة.
وأضاف أن أكثر من 30 سيارة إطفاء انتقلت إلى المسرح المشتعل الذي يقع في ميدان العتبة حيث توجد الإدارة الرئيسية للحماية المدنية بالعاصمة.
ورجح أن الحريق نتج عن تماس كهربائي تلاه انفجار بعض أجهزة التكييف داخل قاعة المسرح وهو ما أدى إلى انهيار جزء من ديكورات وواجهات المسرح المطلة على ميدان العتبة.

A fire started in the National Theater's Hall in downtown Cairo at 5pm today. The city was calm then as it's the holy month of Ramadan now and Muslims here were getting ready for breaking their fast.
Sources at the Fire Fighting department said that the fire started at 5.35pm Cairo local time, when the theater's curtains burned and lasted for about two hours. Fortunately, there were no victims there except for some minor injuries due to smoke inhalation. More than 35 trucks moved to the burning theater located in El Attaba square, which is by the way where the Cairo Fire Fighting department headquarters is located.
The fire was most probably due to an electric spark, followed by an explosion in one of the theater's air conditioning systems, which in turn destroyed parts of the theater's decorations.

Syrian Medad was minutes away from the explosion and gives us an eyewitness account of what happened:

Dania, from Syria, has a post entitled 17. She writes:

17 people are killed… and no one knows any thing, no news agency knows any thing, no further details but … 17 people are killed.

200kg of explosive… who, how, and why…
17 people are killed…I can't think right now, my brother was on his way to the airport.

They say it might be an assassination, and they say it might be only a threat to the national security.

17 people are killed

Sasa, meanwhile, posts catches up with the rumour mill and brings us the latest:

So, it's been a few minutes since the bomb, and already people are spending their time wishing up conspiracy theories based on their filthy politics, instead of thinking about the fact that seventeen lives have been lost.

Here's what I've heard already:

- The bomb was near the Sidi Kadad Intelligence Headquarters, responsible for monitoring Palestinians in Damascus - it must be Palestinians taking revenge

- The bomb was on the airport road - it must be Israelis trying to hurt a symbol of national significance

- The bomb was in Sayida Zeinab - it must be the Iraqi problem being exported

- The bomb was trying to undermine the stability of the Syrian government - it must be the Americans

- The bomb was revenge for the killing of a top government official last month - it must be the Syrians

- The bomb was revenge for the killing of Hizbollah official Imad Mughniya - it must be the Lebanese

- The bomb follows other attacks across Syria by religious extremists - it must be Al Qaeda

Just think about the dead - instead of how the attack supports your filthy view of the world.

And Syria affairs expert Joshua Landis links to a Telegraph article for the news. Commentators on his post were quick to respond.

Offended said:

Very disturbing news. What kind of a sick ideology or agenda is behind such attacks?

And IDAF responded:

Luckily it is a weekend and no children were in the damaged elementary school in the location.

Syrian TV was the only source of information and footage so far. Some images here:
http://www.syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=83046

From neighbouring Egypt, Zeinobia explains:

This is the first terrorist act that targets the Syrian civilians since a long time. Also it comes after a serious of mysterious assignations assassinations took place across the country. Not to mention it comes at the same time the Syria seems to regain power in the region.

Till now the message behind this blast is not obvious , it is for sure sent to the Syrian regime but for what ?? For its Relations with Iran or the regime itself !!??

She writes:

It is no big secret that the number of Egyptians who believe that Egypt should become a secular nation are increasing. Mainly, intellectual bilingual well-educated people have realized that inter-faith strives are holding the country back.

And for sure both Secular and Religious Egyptians along with their debates and struggles have made their presence felt in the blogosphere and on Facebook groups. Rakha explains:

On the other hand, the number of Islamic fundamentalists and Muslim Brothers is increasing. Their jihad methods have evolved from swords, bombs, banners, stickers, and tapes to invade the world wide web.

And for sure there are more weapons both camps can use besides arguments and discussions on the internet battlefield. Rakha explains:

Facebook's liberal activists were the main target of hackers who took over accounts, changed the name of the owner, sent out messages to his or her friends, deleted the account altogether, sabotaged his or her groups, and used obscene pictures and words to totally defame that person.
Groups that were hacked began posting offensive messages about the admins who lost control over the group and the hackers had more access to more people who do not think that Egypt is an Islamic country. Other than hacking, they created fake accounts that mimicked those of known liberal writers and activists.
One of the activists said “my account was hacked which is painful, especially that I had previously lost all my content while joining a network and I had to start all over”
Another activist said “I personally suggest for group owners to have always a backup account as well and both of them admins; I learnt this tip from other group owners. As for not using my own self I don't like the idea. I prefer being me, if there are sick people out there its their problem. Facebook was meant for us to get together decently and to get to know each other normally; if I need to go through all this hassle I'd rather then not use it at all.”

The Arabist wrote here:

Up to 15 people, including 11 foreign tourists, have been abducted in Egypt, according to the Italian foreign ministry and Egyptian security sources.
…
Although it’s easy to jump to conclusions when the Israeli government recently issued a warning that Israeli tourists were being targeted for kidnappings in Sinai, this is very far away from Sinai and may simply be a criminal gang, considering they’re asking for ransom. Of course that does not rule out the possibility that some violent political group (Islamist or otherwise) is trying to fundraise through kidnappings, which would mark the return of organized militant political violence in Upper Egypt. But I personally doubt it, but this kind of criminal activity is bad news for Egypt and a sign that more attention should be paid to the porous border with Sudan.

Donkeys, Elephants & Crocs also wrote about the same incident here:

An Egyptian government official said the kidnapping took place at a remote location near the Sudanese-Egyptian border south of Aswan. He too said that details remained sketchy. “We don't know yet who did this and we don't know the whereabouts of the tourists,” he said.
…
There has been virtually no violence against tourists in the Nile valley and southern Egypt since an uprising by Islamist militants during the mid-1990s was put down by the government of President Hosni Mubarak.
The last major attack on foreign tourists in the Nile Valley took place in 1997 when 58 were killed by militants in the ancient temple city of Luxor, just north of Aswan.There has been virtually no violence against tourists in the Nile valley and southern Egypt since an uprising by Islamist militants during the mid-1990s was put down by the government of President Hosni Mubarak.
The last major attack on foreign tourists in the Nile Valley took place in 1997 when 58 were killed by militants in the ancient temple city of Luxor, just north of Aswan.

And finally, Zeinobia has another opinion here, as she believes this is not the fist time an incident like this happens in the same location.

The group was abducted at the Gilf el Kebir area where the English Patient film was shot.
…
It tuned out that it is the not first time that something like this happens in the same region of Karkur Talha according to the locals who spoke to Al Jazeera , two similar incidents took place last year and they ended by giving ransoms to the abductors !! We did not know about this before why ?? Where is the security ??
…
There is no news about whether the ransom was paid or not.
Till now the identity of the abductors despite the speculations that they can be from the tribes in the region .

Historically and internationally we were the second country after UK to have a railways. Today from 125 years on the 16th of September 1856 Egypt inaugurated the first railway in Africa and in the East.
It was during Khedive Abbas I era.The Railway was from Alexandria to Cairo “209 km”. Khedive Abbas I whom we rarely remember signed  an agreement with Engineer Robert Stephenson to build the railways  for 56,000 Pounds in 1850. In 1851 Stephenson had accepted to be Engineer-in-Chief to the Egyptian Railway between Alexandria and Cairo. In 1855 Stephenson inaugurated the first two moveable bridge in Egypt at Kafr Zayat and Benha.

Wandering Scarab is trying to provide us with some answers:

It's been noted that divorce rates in Egypt are on the rise. That is despite the fact that Egyptians generally see marriage as a means of gaining independence and engaging freely in sexual activity, as well as gaining stature from being married. It's possible that divorce rates are skyrocketing because couples have misconceptions about marriage that are created by the media in addition to the preconceptions planted in young minds by parents and family about how a marriage should be.

Examples of marital misconceptions follow:

Egyptians often get hooked on mythical marriages like that of Hollywood where phrases such as “love conquers all” and “what matters most is love” constitute the majority of mainstream dramas and romantic comedies, and let's not forget the superficial and misleading soap operas. The average Egyptian mother continues to tell her son to reign in the new wife like she's part of a cattle herd. The same mother will also tell her daughter that it's the sole responsibility of the woman to keep the household running as long as the man is financially capable. In reality marriage requires a lot more work. Some of the bigger C words that come to mind are Commitment, Compromise, and Communication, none of which the average young Egyptian has a clear understanding of it seems.

As harsh as her judgment might sound, Wandering Scarab clearly defends her point:

Newlywed Egyptians seem to be unequipped for marriage. Egyptian girls are brought up with the expectation that life is a journey and marriage is the destination. Women are not encouraged to be financially independent nor are they given the opportunity to be responsible for their own actions. Every choice the woman makes reflects on her family and so there's always pressure and biased sources that seep into the process of decision making. She grows up in a household where the father is the head of the family and is financially responsible for all his children until each one is married.

Nowadays, some parents go even further and continue to support their sons and daughters well after marriage. That is one of the most damaging things to a marriage. It stunts its growth. It takes away the feeling of independence and responsibility, and in turn affects the way newlyweds see their marriage. It forces both parties to acquiesce to certain pressures and forcibly give in to demands, especially from the financially contributing parent. The husband resents his new wife and she loses respect for him because he's unable to provide. When our parents demand that we remain shackled with them until marriage it sets the precedent for the woman that her new husband will take care of her just like her father did. And the son who just got married is expected to shift from someone who is not responsible for anything to being responsible for everything within 24 hours. This is a completely unrealistic expectation of both genders. Egyptian parents do not give their children room to grow.

Another valid point is raised by the Egyptian immigrant:

In addition, Egyptians grow up with a set of stereotypes that continue to be enforced by society well into adulthood. Men often want women who resemble their mothers. They want a household that is similar to the one they just left. They complain that women don't cook as well as their mothers or run a household in the same manner as their mother. Nostalgia, insecurity, or call it what you will. It's the environment they are used to and the one they know works. But they fail to realize that the new household is different and the new wife is precisely that, a wife, a life partner, an equal. Women on the other hand, often expect their partner to be the knight in shining armor, the be all end all of their life. The man becomes the center of their world, and in his absence they lose their sense of balance. This is unrealistic as well as grossly unfair. We cannot expect our men to be superheroes. They are human, and no one is perfect. By expecting either partner to perform according to a preexisting (and unrealistic) benchmark they are setting themselves up for failure. In that sense both partners lack the communication skills to make a marriage work. Instead they rely on traditions and notions passed on from generations before and expect things to magically make sense.

On compromise or the lack of, she writes:

There is also a lack of compromise.
When couples get married, often women expect the same kind of treatment during the engagement, but life is not always so rosy. Both partners had less responsibilities prior to marriage. It is extremely callous of a woman to expect the same man who is working over 18 hours a day to come home and make love to her like a horse or take her out to dinner, let alone listen to her nag endlessly about common stuff. Women seem unwilling to meet their partners half way. They interpret the man's exhaustion as a sign of less love or less interest. And while men care very much they are generally discouraged from showing affection lest they be less manly. Women seem to forget that their men are working two jobs most likely to keep them happy. When a man fails to make his woman happy, he sees the marriage go down the drain. Men who cannot satisfy their wives or make them happy often see themselves as failures. But also, Egyptian men are trained to take their wives for granted after marriage with the idea that she will always be there when he comes home. They forget that women who are taken for granted become bitter and in turn seek alternate ways to display their resentment, which could be manifested in any number of ways.

From compromise, she moves on to communication:

When both partners refuse to compromise and carry resentment for each other, communication inevitably breaks down. A marriage that lacks communication is like a ship without crew, a train wreck waiting to happen.

On the taboo side of marriage, Wandering Scarab talks about sex:

But it's important to note that sexual incompatibility and frustration is one of the leading causes of divorce. Many couples expect that sex will solve their problems, or that sex is a reward for putting up with celibacy for so long and so it's profound enough to fix anything. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Sex in marriage often transforms into a display of affection, more commonly known as “making love” and raunchy sex is seen by some as pure passion. Sex is just that, sex. It can be an act of love between two people, but ultimately it is a physical need which humans desire to fulfill.

Sex cannot solve marital problems and it cannot create affection where there is none. In fact, problems unrelated to sex often penetrate into the bedroom and translate into miserable sex or lack thereof. Egyptian couples seem to understand the significance of sex but fail to see that it's just a barometer that measures how well the marriage is doing. Couples who suffer from problems in the bedroom almost always have problems in other areas of their life that simply have been translated into the bedroom. Many Egyptian couples are overwhelmed by the sense of frustration, especially newlyweds, when they fail in the bedroom.

They see it as a form of betrayal or a reward that's been denied after being celibate for so long. And that frustration can lead to abandonment. They both jump ship so to speak. Problems will always arise between married couples and that's why commitment is key to the success of their marriage. Couples who are committed to fixing their problems or meeting half way are the ones who can make their marriage work. But Egyptian couples seem to put an effort only in relation to the short term gain often because both partners come into the marriage with preset notions, misconceptions, unrealistic expectations, and excess personal baggage.

In conclusion, she writes:

Marriage is all about the big Cs. Marriage in it's infancy is a fragile thing. It needs to be nurtured to grow and flourish. In a successful marriage, both partners are consenting adults who have successfully sorted through their personal baggage, set their misconceptions aside, and adjusted thier expectations to be in line with reality, all through communication. Unfortunately, I don't see many Egyptian couples who fit that description. Their solution, based on a short term gain, is to divorce or remain in an unhappy marriage.

Fantasia was watching an episode of El Beyoot Asrar (Homes have Secrets) where they were talking about women and whether they should work or not.

There were two groups of people on the show; the invited guests, which were men and women in their late 40's and 50's, and the audience, which were mainly younger people. Some were college students and others looked like they were in their early 20's. I do not recall the exact words of every person on the show; however, the older people were all pro work. The women all talked about their experiences in life, how their careers helped them, and how their husbands supported them. They talked about their children. More than once they were asked if their careers compromised the care for their children, and they all answered that the children were not compromised. Until here, it all sounds fine and dandy. You would think that since the older generations think this way, the younger generations will definitely be more open minded, and women will be more career oriented.

When the younger generation of men and women got a chance to express how they felt about the topic, Fantasia was highly disappointed:

A young man, possibly in his early 20's stated that he will not allow his wife to work … no matter what. He believed a woman's place is her home and nothing more. Another young man said “I will give my wife a chance to work and see if she can work, take care of the children alone, and take care of the house alone …( and get this)….. and take care of ME!!!! ( is he 2 or something?? does she need to change his diapers as well??) Then I will “ALLOW” her to work.” However if she fails in any way, or if he feels that she is not up to par …. then he will “FORBID” her getting a job or having a career!!!! Much to my dismay and utter disappointment his sentiments were echoed by several male audience member.

The Female audience members let me down even more. ALL and I repeat ALL the women in the audience (whom I will add that judging from their appearance were in their early 20's) stated that their “DREAM” was to get married and sit at home. No one. I repeat NO ONE mentioned the desire for having a career. Success was nothing they referred to or thought of in any way. They were all college graduates who “chose” to throw away their degree forever!! A couple mentioned they would like to work until they meet the right man. So for them work was a way of “catching” a husband! When these girls were asked about their ambition, their comment was very similar to the young men; they all agreed that women have no ambition, that a woman's ambition should be to cook and clean and care for children. They agreed that a woman's career ambition is a “myth” that the western media tries to brainwash women into believing!!!

Fantasia voiced her frustration saying:

The way I look at things is that our country needs every ounce of work and energy available to help us rise out of this economic and social depression. The concept of a woman working should be a no brainer… The subject has been discussed over and over for more than 120 years… and women have been working since our grandparents came of age in the 40's and the 50's. It is unusual for a society to fall back so much, and for women to lose so much in such a short time. What Egyptian women have worked so hard for is slowly being yanked out from under their feet… and they are totally oblivious. The amount of brainwashing that has happened in our culture over the past 20 years is astounding!! The mystery to me is how do you oppress people while at the same time convincing them that oppression was their idea in the first place… so they think that their oppression is liberation??? I know it sounds confusing but we are living examples of this twisted logic.

Fantasia also explained that she is not against stay at home moms but…

But if all women suddenly decide to stay at home, it is no longer a selfless act, it is actually turned into a very selfish act. Let me explain why:

1- For starters… Children only need their mothers in the first few years of life. After the age of 4, all kids go to school, so really a mother sitting at home isn't doing much for the child.
For working mothers in Egypt, The Egyptian government has done a lot. A very generous law that does not exist everywhere is the “child care leave”. A working woman in Egypt by law can take up to 5 YEARS off of work.

2- Men argue that they need a wife to “take care” of them. Unless the man is incapacitated or handicapped in some way, no adult responsible working man needs a woman to take care of him. Men are taught from a young age that they should not lift a finger to care for their house; they should not clean, they should not cook and all of this ” dirty work” is beneath them.

3- Men argue that if a man can afford to care for the house financially, a woman doesn't HAVE to work. This is actually one of the most annoying arguments. Women in Egypt cost the government thousands of pounds to get a college education, so if a woman chooses not to work she should pay back this money so another person can use it to be educated and benefit society. If this money is used by the ministry of education to fund research in labs wouldn't it be better spent? So this is my argument: if you don't want to use it, then don't take it!!!

4- People argue that women are crowding men and pushing them out of work. To this claim, I would like to respond that not all women have someone who supports them. To men who feel that women are overcrowding them I say, please don't be short sighted. Do not underestimate the value of the woman who works in the neighboring office as she may be doing more for her family than any man could. Women in the work place need to be acknowledged, respected and appreciated. They do not “overcrowd” and their value in the workplace is not any less than their male colleagues.

5- People argue that there aren't enough jobs for everybody… so women need to sit at home, and let the men work, so every family will have at least one income!! To this claim I would like to say that even though there aren't enough sources of income for work for everyone, however, there is so much work that needs to be done that no one is doing. The one concept that we rarely ever hear of in Egypt is volunteering.

Fantasia ends her post on a very motivating note saying:

So to say that women should stay at home is selfish, and is something that is said by people who only think of themselves. Our country needs us, we are the driving force behind the progress of our nation. We all need to work together,. Whining about corruption or where money went will not help us. Working together will. I am not saying that corruption is not a factor, but I am saying Corruption has become the excuse for everything wrong with our lives. There is so much more we can do to make Egypt better…. we just need to try!

The student's cry follows a tragedy in Doweika, a Cairo slum, where rocks came tumbling on homes, killing and maiming scores of poor people.

In the description of the group the students wrote:

حنموت تحت الانقاض
المبنى بعد ما كان ايل للسقوط بس دلوقتى مال و العواميد من كتر الحمل شرخت
كل العاملين فى المبنى مرعوبين
المشكله بقى لما الدراسه تبدا و الحمل يكتر يا ترى ايه الى حيحصل و المبنى بيدخل فيه اكتر من 7000 بنى ادم كل يوم
المشكله كمان حتى لو المبنى وقع و مفيهوش حد دا فيه معامل ب ملايين و كتب نادرة كل دا حيتعوض ازاى

We will be buried under the rubble and debris.
The old building has always been liable to collapse but now it is tilted. The pillars are clearly cracked.
All the workers in the building are terrified.
Soon the university will open its doors and more than 7,000 students will set foot in that derelict building.
The best case scenario is that the building will collapse when it's empty and we will lose millions of pounds worth of laboratories and rare books. And how will we ever compensate all that?

The Facebook group has so far attracted 1,144 members - and photographs of the building are available here.

The poll's results were announced today on his blog:

Out of 156 participants,
89% voted that the Egyptian Parliament does not truly represent Egyptians (139 votes)
8% said that the parliament represents the people sometimes (14 votes)
1.3% said that the parliament represents Egyptians most of the time (2 votes)

Nawara also announced that the accuracy of the poll is to be questioned due to the following reasons:

1) A big segment of the Egyptian populations does not use the internet
2) The poll was mainly promoted in opposition circles
3) The sample is small (156 voter)
4) Some people could have voted twice using a different PC

But in conclusion Nawara says:

I believe that this small segment is representative of the opinion of the whole Egyptian population; for example those who took part in the People's Assembly elections in 2005 did not exceed 23% of the voters. 77% of the voters chose NOT to vote. And out of the 23% who did vote, surely some of them were dissatisfied with the results of the elections or the performance of the elected parliament for their own various reasons; thus, it is not too far fetched to see that actually 89% of Egyptians - as per the above mentioned poll - do not think that the parliament represents them and this might explain the diversity of reactions the fire evoked.