UNREST

Egyptian Women Rally Against Police

Military council apologizes, recognizes right to protest.

In what may have been the biggest women's demonstration in Egyptian history, thousands marched in the streets of Cairo on Tuesday against the military’s abuse of female protesters. The military issued an apology statement, approving of the protest: "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces expresses its utmost sorrow for the great women of Egypt, for the violations that took place during the recent events." The fifth day of clashes between demonstrators and Egyptian police saw the deaths of 13 and the injuries of more than 650. Egyptian soldiers were caught on film dragging a female protester on the ground, removing her shirt, stomping on her, and beating her with clubs. Meanwhile in a speech in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced Egypt’s “systematic degradation of women” and said “women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago.”