About the Event
In late 2010, Egypt was an authoritarian country ruled by strongman Hosni Mubarak, who had been in power longer than the lifespans of many young Egyptians. Within a period of a month, however, Egyptians launched their own version of the Arab Spring, marching in the streets for “bread, freedom, and social justice.” The prospect of a free, democratic future enticed many, but especially Egyptian women, who had for decades faced alienation from public life. Although peaceful protests gave way to brutal violence, the rise of discriminatory extremist elements, mass arrests, and torture, Egypt’s revolutionaries, male and female, continue their determined struggle against fear and repression. Please join us for a screening of the powerful documentary, The Trials of Spring, which chronicles the saga of the Egyptian people and the backlash against them, through the story of Hend Nafea, an inspiring young woman driven to help shape a new, more inclusive Egypt. A discussion moderated by Michele Dunne with Ms. Nafea and film director Gini Reticker will follow the screening.
a conversation with
Hend Nafea, Visiting Fellow
and
Gini Reticker, Film Director
moderated by
Michele Dunne, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1025 F Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004
Telephone: 202-378-9675
About the Speakers
Hend Nafea is a women’s rights advocate who served most recently as manager of the Human Rights Defenders Program at the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, in Cairo. She is the co-founder of Watan Bila Ta’azib (‘A Nation Without Torture’), an organization that seeks to bring an end to torture in Egypt. As a journalist, she reported on the anti-government demonstrations carried out by laborers and other social groups that were not covered by mainstream media. For her participation in the 2011 uprisings against former president Hosni Mubarak, Ms. Nafea was arrested, tortured, and later sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison. She has been profiled in the New Yorker, the New York Times, and in the 2015 documentary feature film The Trials of Spring, which premiered at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York City in June 2015. During her fellowship, Ms. Nafea is collecting, documenting, and publishing a series of testimonies from victims of torture in Egypt’s prisons. She also hopes to prepare a report on the prison conditions of human rights defenders, with a particular focus on the mistreatment of women.
Michele Dunne is Director and Senior Associate in the Middle East Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Gini Reticker is the director of The Trials of Spring.
RSVP
No cameras will be allowed at this event. Media must register with NED public affairs. Please email press@ned.org to register as a member of the press.