Brutal Egypt Security Force Beat Woman Unconscious

Video news footage and accompanying music

The video shows Egyptian military police beating a woman during the Cabinet sit-in during December 2011. The video went viral and caused outrage in Egypt and beyond. The woman, whose identity was never revealed, has been dubbed the 'blue bra woman' or, more affectionately, 'sitt al-banat' ('The best of girls').

The protests outside the Cabinet building aimed to prevent Kamal al-Ganzouri from becoming prime minister. Egyptian revolutionaries objected to Ganzouri, who had served under former president Hosni Mubarak.

The video is also an example of DIY montage - that is, individuals creating video montages and pairing them with a piece of music. In this case, the montage maker sought to raise awareness of the violence of the military. The song is called 'Bil-Waraqa wal-’alam' (With pen and paper) and is sung by Riham ‘Abd al-Hakim. It is taken from a 2010 film called 'Asal Iswid' ('Black Honey' or 'Molasses'), which is a comedy/light drama exploring feelings of disillusionment towards Egypt, where Egyptian citizens have few rights and live hard lives.

Youth Who Love Egypt

YouTube

18/12/2011

Standard YouTube licence

Arabic

17/12/2011