Above are two stencils, found next to each other across the street from the sit-in at the Maglis Al-Sha'ab. On the left is Aliaa Magda Elmahdy and on the right is Samira Ibrahim.
The words in this specific stencil are illegible, they were actively scratched out. The words, however, are legible in other stencils. The following translation is a result of viewing other stencils.
Translation (in between portrait of Elmahdy):
"Samira Ibrahim: 25 years-old, she had been naked by force and checked for her virginity in front of officers and soldiers in the army and she refused not to revenge her dignity and she filed a lawsuit in the Egyptian court. There was no interest... There was no audience...There was no media...There was no life for the killers.
Aliaa Elmahdy: 20 years-old, she stripped and exposed her body clearly by her own wanting. By the hurried manner of the public and the media [to learn about her] and around one million viewed her picture and not less than 50 articles about her and a lot of TV shows."
Translation (below portrait of Ibrahim):
"Tribute and homage to cherish and support For Samira Ibrahim, daughter of Upper Egypt."
Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, a former AUC student, posted a nude photograph of herself on her blog. The picture gained wide-spread notoriety in mid-November about a month after its posting when activist Ahmed Awadalla twitted about it. While Awadalla praised the picture, in general, there was a conservative backlash against it.
Many feared that liberal political parties would be affected in the parlimentary polls.
After rumors circulated, the April 6th movement issued an official statement that Elmahdy was not a member.
Legal action has since been taken against Elmahdy for "trying to spread her obscene ideology through nude photos," and "violating morals, inciting indecency and insulting Islam" according to the report filed in court. Furthermore the prosecution believes that Elmahdy should be tried according to Islamic law because Islamic law is the source of the (1971) constitution. The penalty under Islamic law is death.
Elmahdy discussed her views with CNN earlier this month.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/19/world/meast/nude-blogger-aliaa-magda-elmahdy/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8
Samira Ibrahim sued the military after being forced by the military to take a virginity test last March. The verdict in the case was expected on Tuesday, but delayed until 27 December. Ibrahim was one of 17 women forced to take a virginity tests after being detained on 9 March when the military attempted to clear Midan Tahrir. SCAF admitted that the virginity tests occurred, but argued that they were a necessary defense should any of the detained women claim that they were raped.
While many Egyptians do not agree with Elmahdy's actions, it is my hope that they nevertheless treat her-- as they should any individual-- with respect, just as Ibrahim should have been. Elmahdy was allegedly beaten upon entering Midan Tahrir last week.
No matter what an individuals point of view is-- or how much you disagree with them-- I don't believe such behavior is acceptable.
NOTE: All translations on this blog were conducted by me and an Egyptian friend. While we translated to the best of our ability combining our native English and Arabic skills, these translations are not a professional standardized translation of the street art that is available on the internet. We are, however, confident in all translations that we post on this blog.
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