Pro-Morsi coalition calls for Friday protests 'in defence of women'
Ahram Online, Friday 8 Nov 2013
The pro-Morsi National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy calls for protests under the banner 'Egypt's women are a red line'


A coalition led by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has called for mass protestson Fridayunder the rallying slogan "Egypt's women are a red line," decrying recent arrests of women protesting in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

In a statement, the National Coalition in Support of Legitimacy accused security forces of beating, torturing and detaining women in the latest security crackdown against Morsi's supporters.

Last week, 21 Muslim Brotherhood women were arrested during a demonstration in Egypt's second city Alexandria.

Video footage circulating on social media networks showed security forces manhandling some of the women arrested.

"Such practices didn't stop at killing men, women and children in massacres as had happened in Rabaa El-Adawiya and Al-Nahda Square; instead there is an unprecedented targeted attack on women," the statement read.

The sit-ins at Rabaa El-Adawiya and Al-Nahda Square in Cairo were violently dispersed by police in August, leaving hundreds of protesters dead.

The coalition said that “increasing violence” by security forces is a sign of the "failure of the coup.”

Morsi was ousted by the army in July after mass protests calling for his overthrow. He made his first public appearance at a court sessionon Monday. He is facing a number of charges, including inciting violence against protesters during his presidency.

The coalition, which has been staging regular protests since Morsi's ouster, said it will launch a week of protests.

The day of Morsi's trial witnessed relatively small protests by his supporters.

The Brotherhood's top members have all been detained by security forces, and many face similar charges to Morsi. The Egyptian government has accused the group of leading a terrorist plot against the state.

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