CBS News' Lara Logan Sexually Assaulted During Egypt Protests

[Lützower]

(CBSNews) On Friday, Feb. 11, the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a "60 Minutes" story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.
In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering.
There will be no further comment from CBS News and correspondent Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time.

This mob didn't consist out of Mubarak goons, but out of "peaceful protesters for democracy" as our Western media usually portrays the riots in Egypt full of sympathy.

Can this barbaric incident be seen as a sign to where this revolution is heading?

Do we have to regard it as "Cultural Enrichment" (TM) in action?

Maybe we have to understand in the course of "intercultural competence" (TM) that a blonde infidel woman, looking like a in the eyes of many Muslims, and working for a TV station of "the Great Satan USA" (TM) can stir the blood of the regular Muslim fighting for another Islamic theocracy... uhm Middle Eastern democracy.

I guess all this has nothing to do with Islam as always.

What do you think?

[charles the hammer]

um, what does one case of SA have to do with the protests goal? Also what does this have to do with Islam? Was it a hate rape?

[Simon Cashmere]

Can you imagine any of the people dancing around the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 raping female reporters?

Thought not. I wonder, what the difference is here...

[Dr. Croccer]

Can you imagine any of the people dancing around the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 raping female reporters?

Thought not. I wonder, what the difference is here...

Both sides with Berlin wanted the wall to fall and rejoiced, whereas in Egypt there have been massive violent clashes between mobs and political factions and hatred from some of Westerners for political reasons and the two cases are completely incomparable? You know, resources that require you to actually use your brain for once to understand?

It really disgusts me how some people here are using cases like this to propagate their ideology.

Then people argued, "such things happen in moments of anarchy". But we already had several revolutions in modern times in the West, like the Fall of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the Eastern Block. But the people there obviously didn’t decide it was ok during the festivities to beat the out of some Muslim female reporter and raping her. What’s the difference here? Maybe a higher moral standard?
The difference is Islamic culture, which treats women as pretty much property of men without rights, especially infidel women. Islam has a lot to do with this, since sexual assaults against women in Islamic countries often aren’t prosecuted. Unprotected western women are often seen as fair game.

No, the ing difference is this.

Fall of the Berlin Wall:



Fall of Mubarak.



Journalists are attacked by pro-government mobs because they're thought to support the revolt.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Sounds like your trying to link the protesters with violent marxists, socialists, communist thugs as Glenn Beck is doing... point is not all the protesters raped people and your own quote provides the proof.

before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers.

Saved by a group of women and soldiers.

Plus there was another reporter for CNN who speaks Arabic fluently who was attacked by pro-mubarak protesters but she was saved and ushered to safety by some young men on the Anti-Mubarak side.

So for you to call the protesters barbarians because a select few took advantage of the situation is like calling all Iraqis terrorists.

The former protesters are now cleaning up the streets of Tahrir... thats the route this revolution is heading.

[★Bandiera Rossa☭]

Sounds like your trying to link the protesters with violent marxists, socialists, communist thugs as Glenn Beck is doing... point is not all the protesters raped people and your own quote provides the proof.

Socialists and communists are involved in large numbers, they just tend to be feminists..not rapists. Marxists and Socialists generally choose the non-violent path whenever possible, and this is what they are doing in Egypt.

[mongrel]

The article she she was saved by Egyptians.

I cannot believe that someone is using this woman's misfortune as an argument against democracy. For feck's sake.

[Simon Cashmere]

The article she she was saved by Egyptians.

I cannot believe that someone is using this woman's misfortune as an argument against democracy. For feck's sake.

It's not an argument against democracy. I don't think anyone is saying that the principles of democracy were being followed when she was raped.

[charles the hammer]

It's not an argument against democracy. I don't think anyone is saying that the principles of democracy were being followed when she was raped.

He did make the argument in the op that this somehow points that the revolution is going to end badly though. But he also somehow found a (weak) way to pin this on islam so its kind of hard to take him seriously.

[MathiasOfAthens]

It's not an argument against democracy. I don't think anyone is saying that the principles of democracy were being followed when she was raped.

Coming from the OP:

can stir the blood of the regular Muslim fighting for another Islamic theocracy... uhm Middle Eastern democracy.

I guess all this has nothing to do with Islam as always.

Obviously he thinks this has to do with Islam and the protesters were not fighting for democracy.

[mongrel]

It's not an argument against democracy. I don't think anyone is saying that the principles of democracy were being followed when she was raped.

Generally speaking the crowd turned out to get rid of Mubarak. We know because it has been on the telly for much of this month. The OP has seemed to turn a not unheard of crime as an excuse to take a pop on those who got rid of the old order. I consider this unreasonable.


I know you are cut up about this, but live with it. Your ideology will die out if things go well , and Mr Spencer will have do get a job.

[Simon Cashmere]

Generally speaking the crowd turned out to get rid of Mubarak. We know because it has been on the telly for much of this month. The OP has seemed to turn a not unheard of crime as an excuse to take a pop on those who got rid of the old order. I consider this unreasonable.

I know you are cut up about this, but live with it. Your ideology will die out if things go well , and Mr Spencer will have do get a job.

What am I cut up about, exactly? Not much gets me 'cut up'. I think you take all this discussion stuff far too seriously. I have a lot of down time in what I do, waiting for things to happen, other people to do things. Writing and commenting (even though the standard of reply with rare exception is marginal) is a way to pass the time. But I don't live or die by it, I don't think about it.

No my ideology wont die out (although you are wrong about what my ideoliogy in fact is), not unless Islam does. Or we (as in the West) do. I think Robert Spencer has a job, he's a NY times best selling author, a few times over. It's not easy to write a book. Or to be published. Not easy at all? Have you been published? I doubt it.

It's more than just 'some people in Egypt are bad', can you imagine a crowd of people in the West, gathering for a demonstration, about anything, raping a reporter? This wasn't a serial rapist on the prowl, it was a crowd of people, who thought it was acceptable, actually to be fair, a crowd of men who thought it was acceptable in a highly visible place to abduct a woman and rape her. What does that tell you about the values in the 'mob'. People in the West would attack you *immediately* in any demonstration if you were foolish enough to do that. It was only the soldiers and women (apparently) who stopped the assault. What sort of 'common values' are held by those group of men? Islamic values?

Can you imagine any of those when the Soviet Empire fell, raping reporters? Islam and rape is a big big problem for the West. Muslims are far over represented in crimes of rape throughout the Western world. Far over represented, to the extent you can get figures. Those figures are very inconvenient, so they are buried, usually.

Also, Mohammed was a champion rapist, he even raped little girls. Raping the enemy or the infidel was considered part of the prize for allah. So no doubt, raping this infidel reporter was considered a prize by these 'jihadis' who had just overthrown a regime, as well. Add to that the extreme misogynist viewpoint in Islam, where women are just cattle, property to do as they are told, for housework, breeding and sex. Dangerous mix, for women at least.

While I feel very much for Lara Logan, I also feel to a far lesser extent for her security team. Those guys, are usually ex-mil and would take a bullet for their charge no questions asked. And they would be I'm sure, so upset and feel that they had let her down. But when set upon by a mob, there really is nothing you can do.

[jsktrogdor]

I am getting so very very tired of people jumping up to defend Islam when stories like this break.

Yes we've heard you before, we know...

"Its not violent"

"There are bad people in every culture"

"These we're bad apples"

"This happens in other places"


I used to be one of those people, I really did. But what I realized one day is that if I walked into this mudpit on any given day, chances are I could find a new thread, a new opportunity to defend Islam against some atrocity that its patrons have committed.

Often times in its name; other times, like this one, because of its lax morality in regards to this kind of horrible brutality. I'd like someone to find my a quote from any religious text that specifically states you shouldnt abuse a woman. I'll go find some that give advice on how to abuse a woman and we'll see who finds more. Im of the opinion all religions are something to be overcome, but Islam in particular is a dangerous ideology whose masses defend its peaceful principles in this forum. While they simultaneously ignore the fact that since the day Muhammad died the middle east has been torn to shreds by it; they ignore the horror show that the middle east has become. How can you defend something that breeds such an awful culture of abuse and rape.

AND DONT YOU DARE TRY TO SAY THESE THINGS HAPPEN IN THE WEST. We've already acknowledged they do, but its not the same. Very few people in the west would condone what happened; essentially everyone is horrified at news like this. I wonder how many people in the middle east would condone this? I wonder how many would tolerate it? Apparently at the very least 200 would.

[Kurtz]

AND DONT YOU DARE TRY TO SAY THESE THINGS HAPPEN IN THE WEST. We've already acknowledged they do, but its not the same. Very few people in the west would condone what happened; essentially everyone is horrified at news like this. I wonder how many people in the middle east would condone this? I wonder how many would tolerate it? Apparently at the very least 200 would.

I remember an article posted not to long agon on here about a girl who was raped right outside of her school prom. And not only did people ignore it, some even joined in. I suggest that you don't go making assumptions like this unless you really know what you are talking about.

[jsktrogdor]

I remember an article posted not to long agon on here about a girl who was raped right outside of her school prom. And not only did people ignore it, some even joined in. I suggest that you don't go making assumptions like this unless you really know what you are talking about.

So assuming that since those kids we're reported in the news, at least some of them must of been punished. Sexual Assault is a serious crime in the west, usually accompanied with at least a few years behind bars. Considering that according to statistics presented earlier a solid percentage of Egyptian men have admitted to similar offenses...

Considering this high rate of harassment; I'm sure Egypt's prisons are overflowing with sex offenders right???

Oh no wait, most middle eastern countries have little to no laws in regards to the rights of women. I forgot that.


Also, the 200 people in the crowd is a microcosm of the bigger issue in the middle east. Your referencing a single event, and yes I'm sure you can find more. But your just skirting around the edge of the issue.

[ShADoW]

Fail OP, apparently someone is new to hearing journalists being sexually abused/raped or physically abused all over the world.

[boofhead]

I think it's a mob thing related to countries where women are meant to be subservient and intellectually deficient. This woman is so much hotter than anyone they'll ever have, and she actually shows some skin, and is educated. So they hate, hate, hate, envy, envy, envy.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Or it was a group of horny men not use to seeing blondes despite the fact that thousands of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish women go to Egypt every Year.

It was just a group of men who wanted to rape her... nothing more.


Sheesh, when did any of the protesters fight for a Muslim theocracy? Why is it ok for Iranians to protest against their theocracy but when Egyptians protest against a dictator who happens to be a western ally they are guilty of wanting a theocracy?

[Adar]

Or it was a group of horny men not use to seeing blondes despite the fact that thousands of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish women go to Egypt every Year.

And 98 % of those women are also sexually harassed. There was a report about it two years ago (read the BBC article here).

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN EGYPT
Experienced by 98% of foreign women visitors
Experienced by 83% of Egyptian women
62% of Egyptian men admitted harassing women
53% of Egyptian men blame women for 'bringing it on'
Source: Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights

But the problem is even older than that.

A report from Daily News Egypt

Source
CAIRO: While sexual harassment in Egypt, particularly Cairo, was widely reported in the media in recent weeks, very little on the topic has been heard from the authorities, said participants at the Sexual Harassment Forum organized by the American University in Cairo’s (AUC) Cynthia Nelson Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies on Monday.

On Oct. 24, a mob of young men allegedly attacked and sexually assaulted women outside Metro Cinema in Downtown Cairo.

Wael Abbas, blogger and Middle East correspondent for German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), witnessed the event.

“I saw dozens of young men following a girl in the street. They quickly surrounded her and started groping and trying to rip her clothes off,” Abbas told the forum.

According to Abbas, more than half a dozen policemen were present at the scene but failed to take action.

“At one point, the police even invited us to one of the movie premieres to stop us from taking pictures of the incident,” Abbas continues.

Mariz Tadros of the AUCs Political Science Department, believes the police would have intervened had there been a political demonstration instead of two frightened women trying to evade the constant harassment by dozens of young men.

“If the women outside Metro Cinema were activists shouting ‘Down with Mubarak’, I bet state security would have intervened immediately to hinder the ‘threat to national security’ the women posed by shouting the slogan,” Tadros said.

Nadia Illahi, an AUC graduate, is currently conducting a large survey on sexual harassment in Cairo, which she plans to present at conferences in Europe.

“So far the survey shows that almost every woman in Cairo has experienced sexual harassment at some point. It doesn’t matter if you are veiled or unveiled. It happens to everyone,” she argues.

While Europe and the United States have laws on sexual harassment, the Egyptian law on the subject tends to be vague.

According to Amr Shalakany, director of the Law Program at AUC, rape, sexual assault, and ‘acts of public immorality’ are punishable by prison sentences of up to seven years in Egypt, but the rules under the current laws are suffering from severe enforcement problems.

“First, the person filing the claim must provide both her name as well as the name of the offender, which some people are uncomfortable with.

“As a victim of sexual harassment, you cannot file a claim anonymously and you must also know the name of your attacker, since prosecutors won’t file a case against anonymous offenders.”

“Second, police stations in Egypt are places you just don’t want to visit due to their bad reputation of corruption and violence. The problem of sexual harassment in Egypt has deep social components,” Shalakany argues.

Recently the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) started a campaign to highlight the increase of sexual harassment in Egypt.

“With this campaign we are aiming to raise public awareness of sexual harassment in our country through intense advocacy with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education and public forums,” Rebecca Chiao, International Relations Officer at ECWR, said.

While raising public awareness of sexual harassment, Tadros stresses the fact that “the authorities are completely denying that it is taking place in this country.”

“The government tries to cover up traces of these happenings and then they demonize the people who claim that it did take place. The social stigma of sexual harassment combined with the corrupt nature of the Egyptian authorities prevents women from reporting harassment cases,” Tadros continues.

“We don’t feel comfortable walking in the streets of Cairo at any hour of the day. The constant whistling, the “psssss”, and sexually suggestive comments from guys on the street are disturbing and disgusting,” a group of female students said.

“I don’t want to live in a city where I am constantly harassed the moment I step out of my apartment. It doesn’t matter whether I am going to a party or the grocery store around the corner from my house. It shouldn’t be like this,” said 22-year-old Marwa.

So yes, Egypt got a serious problem with sexual harassment. Lützower does however make a spectacularily bad job at making a sensible thread about it.

Angles I think would be interesting:

1) Both Mubaraks regime and the protestors contain a lot of thugs. The military is the only thing keeping the nation from chaos..

2) Attack on CBS news reporter once more highlight chavunistic issues in Egypt. We actually had a thread about this in 2008 but I doubt people remember that.

3) Hot blonde reporter is sent to the Mecca of sexual harassment without proper protection. Now victim of sexual assault. Does news reporters need cultural sensitivity training?

[zznɟ ǝɥʇ]

A revolution in which the protesters were nonviolent just happened, but then some tossers assault a woman, and suddenly Egypt it doomed and Islam is at fault? Was Islam why Mubarak was forced from office without the protesters taking up arms?

Keep on with the superiority complexes guys ;D

And anyone that spouts shite about women in Egypt clearly has never heard of Egypt's proud feminist history.