Egyptian general admits 'virginity checks' conducted on protesters

[oberliner]

Source: CNN

Cairo (CNN) -- A senior Egyptian general admits that "virginity checks" were performed on women arrested at a demonstration this spring, the first such admission after previous denials by military authorities.

The allegations arose in an Amnesty International report, published weeks after the March 9 protest. It claimed female demonstrators were beaten, given electric shocks, strip-searched, threatened with prostitution charges and forced to submit to virginity checks.

At that time, Maj. Amr Imam said 17 women had been arrested but denied allegations of torture or "virginity tests."

But now a senior general who asked not to be identified said the virginity tests were conducted and defended the practice.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/30/egypt.virginity.tests/?hpt=T2

[Suich]

1. I'm speechless...

:banghead:

[enough]

2. "defended the practice":

snip>

But now a senior general who asked not to be identified said the virginity tests were conducted and defended the practice.

"The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine," the general said. "These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs)."

The general said the virginity checks were done so that the women wouldn't later claim they had been raped by Egyptian authorities.

"We didn't want them to say we had sexually assaulted or raped them, so we wanted to prove that they weren't virgins in the first place," the general said. "None of them were (virgins)."

snip>

[femrap]

6. A day doesn't

go by that I am not reminded how much women are hated in this world.

[Lorien]

16. +1. nt

[CrispyQ]

28. So true.

Will it ever end?

[RainDog]

3. business as usual

videos of just such torture conducted under Mubarak were already in circulation in Egypt - and this is what led to the street demonstrations when people said this must stop.

the generals seem to think they can change the figurehead and continue the same old shit.

I hope the people prove them wrong.

[FiveGoodMen]

32. "change the figurehead and continue the same old shit"

Pretty much what happened in this country.

[MasonJar]

4. I am sure they didn't give them to the men protesters.

[Ilsa]

5. Assholes. Misogynist assholes. I hope their dicks rot. nt

[Vidar]

7. I wish the general a happy castration.

[d_r]

8. speechless

My mind is boggled.

[SoapBox]

9. I think the guy (or multiples of these creeps) need the good old, "bend over" for the "Army" check..

...guys will know what this is.

But, instead of a finger, maybe an electric prod of some kind?

[Betty]

10. if you're not a virgin

you can't be raped???? Is that what they are saying????

[Grey]

11. Read 'The war against women'...

This is nothing new.

[Odin2005]

12. There are no words...

:grr:

[aquart]

13. I think he should test those electric shocks to see if they work.

On genitalia.

[Me.]

14. And The Pigs Keep Oinking

[trud]

15. I'm pretty sure I remember

reading a news article during the Vietnam war protests about a father who had spirited his protestor daughter away from a US court because the judge had ordered her checked in public for venereal disease. I can't remember the supposed rational for this.

[gtar100]

17. What do all these men have to fear from women that they go to such extremes?

Those generals and anyone who condones this are ignorant fools. They call liberalism in America a problem because we "allow" (sic) women to be as they choose, yet they are the ones who practice bullshit like virginity tests and other barbaric practices that violate women. Their stupidity must be stopped.

[oberliner]

21. That is a great question

Is it fear or something else?

[gtar100]

29. Probably the fact that only a woman could fully put them in their place.

The truth about what reprobates they are can be made crystal clear by any thoughtful, intelligent woman.

It seems this goes so deep into the psyche that the it would take a great deal of soul searching and willingness on their part to face the truth to come to terms with their screwed up relationship to women. It's more than a question of values because for them to become whole again, they would need to drop their current values and walk into that territory of not knowing what is right. Many in the US went through that in the 60's and 70's. Enough to make some measure of a difference. But there are still far too many men boxed in by ill-conceived traditions.

[tavalon]

18. It's rare that I'm speechless

Fuck.

[defendandprotect]

19. kr/r

[defendandprotect]

20. Americans have to see that TORTURE is about controlling populations ....

not about the alleged "terrorist" or other alleged outsiders!!

When we permit our government to TORTURE anyone, we are giving them a tool with

which to suppress their own people --

And rape is not only a primary tool of patriarchy's continuing war on women --

it is recognized now by the United Nations as officially being a "tool of war."

[girl_interrupted]

22. Just plain sick

no other words to describe it.

[Enthusiast]

23. K&R

That is horrible.

[lunatica]

24. kick'd and rec'd

[Warren Stupidity]

25. What revolution?

Egypt remains a military dictatorship, as it has been since Nasser took power in 1956. Before that it was a corrupt monarchy.

[somone]

26. And the U.S. taxpayers gave them $50 billion

[Macoy]

27. It's only rape if she is a virgin??

To me, the thought processes behind that idea is the most disgusting thing about the whole affair. O' the woman had sex before, so it is not really rape if we force her now.


Macoy

[lolly]

34. And, I would argue that the "check" itself is a form of rape

Forcing a women to expose her genitals to be examined and prodded and "checked" is definitely sexual assault.

[chrisa]

30. Oh my god.

:wtf:

[jimmie]

31. Oh just wonderful

what other democratic/progressive things come next.

[bemildred]

33. EGYPT: Woman denies military's claims about 'virginity test'

A high-ranking Egyptian military official Wednesday denied reports by CNN the day before that the military had conducted “virginity tests” on female protesters in March, according to Al Ahram newspaper.

An unidentified Egyptian general had told CNN that the military conducted the tests, and said they were justified, to prevent rape allegations. His account confirmed earlier reports by London-based human rights group Amnesty International.

The military official quoted in Al Ahram on Wednesday, who also was not named, called on the media "to practice precision before publishing these accusations, and tarnishing the name of the armed forces with such accusations that seek to cause a rift between the army and the people."

---

Amnesty International officials reported that some in a group of 18 women detained March 9 in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square were subjected to "virginity tests" as well as beatings, electric shocks and strip searches as male soldiers looked on. This week, they called for an investigation by the Egyptian government into the alleged abuses. Late Wednesday, about 100 people gathered outside a meeting of the country's ruling military council, many hoisting signs calling for the military to address the issue.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/06/egypt-victim-details-virginity-test-denies-military-claims.html