Graffiti promoting a general strike

Graffiti/street art

This stencil on the walls of Cairo University supports a general strike called by the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions for 11 February 2012. The aim of the general strike was to end military rule and establish a civilian government free from the influence of supporters of the former regime of Hosni Mubarak.

In the first year or so following the stepping down of Hosni Mubarak, there were continuing protests calling for the removal of remnants of the former regime ('feloul') from all institutions, not only the government.

The general strike was controversial at Cairo University and beyond. Whilst supporters of the revolution saw this as a legitimate form of protest in the face of continuing military rule, many others saw this as unnecessary disruption of everyday life. SCAF criticised ongoing protests and strikes as undermining the economy, or 'the wheels of production'.

The image shows a spanner being jammed into 'the wheels of production', accompanied by the words 11 February. Below, it is written 'civil disobedience'.

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Nicola Pratt

Creative Commons Licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Arabic

11/02/2012