Lara Logan Sexually Assaulted. Egyptian Freedom at What Cost?

The high cost of Egypt's freedom seems to have hit journalists especially hard. It's been reported by CBS that their top foreign reporter was the victim of 'a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating'. Enough said. While in the company of her journalistic team, she was separated from them when 200 or so people came at them in Tahrir Square. She was finally saved by a group of women and about 20 Egyptian soldiers. She is back in America and recovering.

Egyptians think they have gained "freedom". But I suspect Egyptian women aren't being fooled. In Egypt's culture it would be hard pressed to find humans that mean less than women. According to Egypt's Interior Ministry, 55 women are raped every day. It stands to reason that those numbers are not representative of reality. Women in all countries are inclined not to report rape and Egypt's culture brings as much or more fear about reporting rape as the actual crime.

To begin with, Egypt does not consider spousal rape illegal. Many rapes occur within families and never get reported. These victims are often accused of causing the rape by some fictitious reasoning such as what the female is wearing or that the female was "asking" for it. Many of these situations end up in Honor Killings and Honor crimes are technically not illegal.

Lara Logan is not the first journalist to be brutally attacked sexually and certainly not the first to be beaten. In Egypt's recent attempt for freedom, at least 140 journalist (men and women) were injured or killed. Silence for the way journalists have been treated in the past to the present in countries such as Egypt is deafening.

Yes, these thugs are not the whole of Egypt. And yet if the rest of the population continues to let them reign over women like they are dirt, they too are responsible. It's not enough to change a law, the culture of Egypt will have to change. That's almost too much to hope for in these times.

Our prayers are with Lara Logan and the rest of the journalist who's only crime was to give us the news. Our thanks go the group of women and soldiers who rescued her and got her safely back to America. Our condemnation goes to Egypt's careless and brutal attitude about their women and ours. Freedom is just a word. Actions speak so much louder. We're listening and watching Egypt.

sources:

CBS news
Egypt's Interior Ministry