Egyptian Women’s March on International Women's Day

Marching from the headquarters of the Palestinian Women's Union in Cairo to the spot where Egyptian journalist and poet, Shaimaa El-Sabbagh was martyred.

This is Our Message to the Women of Gaza

As Egyptian women, we note your invitation to join the global call designating March 8th as a day of strike in solidarity with Gaza. Your invitation underscores a profound truth: there can be no feminist struggle without Gaza. It envisions a landscape where streets resonate with feminist protests, illuminating the narratives, histories, hardships, and resilience of Palestinian women. it recognises the multitude of avenues through which women can resist, transcending physical demonstrations to boycott campaigns, to social media activism and crafting heartfelt messages of solidarity with Gaza.

We share in the grief and rage that fill the hearts of the people of Gaza who have been suffering an ongoing genocide at the hands of the illegitimate Zionist state of Israel since October 7. This atrocity has been deepened by the complicity of both Western and Arab regimes, who have forsaken the principles of humanity and justice. The resilience of the Palestinians in Gaza, who continue to resist by safeguarding their land, history and identity - particularly Gazan women, whom we consider the heart of the resistance - fills us with pride.

Overwhelmed by our fury and anguish, we ask: we question the Egyptian regime's unwavering commitment to a peace treaty that has been stripped of its very essence in the face of Zionist aggression? We query why our land continues to host the Zionist ambassador, and why our own remains stationed in Israel? Why, out of all people on this earth, are we denied the freedom to express our anger and solidarity in the streets? Why are Palestinian students, forced to study in our universities, not granted exemption from tuition fees?

As the sole nation sharing borders, blood and history with Gaza, we are duty bound to ask why those borders remain sealed? Why they obstruct the flow of relief, humanitarian aid and solidarity activists from Egypt and around the world? People long to enter Gaza; they stand ready, day after day, to act as human shields for the innocent children of Gaza and to bear witness to Israel’s relentless brutalities unfolding in the strip.

These questions pierce our collective conscience and demand answers, especially as we learn that the Rafah Crossing, once a gateway for aid, has been transformed into a commercial conduit, with brokers exploiting the suffering of Palestinians by determining a price for their passage. We hear reports of the violations endured by female prisoners in Israeli jails, the deliberate targeting of Palestinian women’s bodies as a means of humiliation, the rising instances of abortions amid bombardments, and the harrowing experiences of difficult childbirths without anesthesia or adequate support. The war waged against women's bodies cannot be ignored. Also, we cannot turn a blind eye to the plight of our Sudanese sisters, who endure similar horrors in the civil war, most particularly at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces. They face physical annihilation, abduction, sexual assault, mass rape, forced prostitution and trafficking. We observe the solidarity between Palestinian and Sudanese women and ruefully acknowledge our absence from these efforts.

On this day, we address you—the women of Gaza—and declare that the Egyptian regime does not represent us. If we could, we would stand beside you, individually and as groups, to join your resistance and confront the aggression together. We vehemently reject any attempts to displace Palestinians once again. Any endeavour to compel the people of Gaza to seek refuge in Egypt will never be done in our name. We beg you to forgive us; we are imprisoned by our repressive regime. We call upon every Egyptian woman who shares our shame and helplessness to persist in finding every possible means to express solidarity with the women of Gaza and to exhibit pride in their courage and resistance.

A future without Gaza is inconceivable. A feminist struggle without Gaza is untenable. We reject the war waged against women's bodies. Our solidarity with Gaza is our form of resistance.