Thousands of women marched in Cairo on 20 December 2011 demanding that the military government step down after repeated attacks targeted against women human rights defenders. The march occurred after military forces dispersed a sit-in at the cabinet by beating, dragging, and stripping female activists. The march has been called the largest women's activist event since a 1919 march against British control. Members of the march included women carrying babies, professionals, homemakers, journalists, and activists. Marchers have received worldwide support after videos of women being attacked by military personnel spread over the internet. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the attacks a disgrace to "the state and its uniform," adding, "Women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago."
Compiled from: Nazra for Feminist Studies, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, Hisham Mubarak Center, and Women and Memory Form, Joint Statement: Continued Militarization: Increased Violence against Women Human Rights Defenders During Dispersal of Cabinet Sit-in, AWID: Association for Women's Rights in Development (12 December 2011); Abad-Santos, Alexander, Thousands of Brave Egyptian Women Marched Through Cairo, The Atlantic Wire (21 December 2011); Kirkpatrick, David, Mass March by Cairo Women in Protest Over Abuse by Soldiers, New York Times (20 December 2011).