MOZN HASSAN was born in 1979 to an Egyptian family in Saudi Arabia. At the age of fourteen she returned to Egypt with her family. She received her bachelor’s degree in Greco-Roman studies at the University of Alexandria, and went on to earn her Master’s in civil society and human rights law at the University of Cairo and the American University of Cairo. Currently, she is earning her masters in community psychology at the American University of Cairo.
In 2007 she and ten other young Egyptian women activists founded a civil society organization called ‘Nazra for Feminist Studies.’ Through Nazra’s activities her work sheds light on the power relationships within the society by focusing on its impacts on the political, social and economic status of women. Together with the Women Political Participation Academy Program, it strove to bring a feminist point of view into unions, political movements, political parties and local administrations, and a more powerful voice for female candidates within these organizations. With its Feminist School, it trains young women and men about their personal freedoms and gender in society. It supports art projects that introduces feminism to various segments of society. It gathers and disseminates the stories of feminists in Egypt. It supports women politicians and right defenders in their struggle against the violence and discrimination they faced in the public and political spheres.
Through Nazra and on her own, she documented the human rights violations taking place in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011. She worked with local organizations to protect the rights of women who experienced sexual violence and gang rape in Tahrir Square. She coordinated the efforts to provide women with medical, psychological and legal support. She followed the cases on sexual violence. After the revolution, Nazra started a hotline for women survivors of sexual assault.
Following the revolution, she took part in a coalition of women’s organizations and played a major role in the inclusion of women’s rights in the Egyptian Constitution. Together with her colleagues at Nazra, and in cooperation with state institutions such as the National Council for Women, the National Council for Human Rights and the Ministry of Justice, she ensured that women’s rights were incorporated into laws and political decisions, and had a special unit established within the Egyptian police force to combat violence against women. She brought up the subjects of women’s rights violations, and violence and discrimination against women on several international platforms such as the United Nations. In 2015 she was one of the pioneers in the establishment of a coalition of civil society organizations called the Coalition of Women Human Rights defenders in the Middle East and The Caucus of Women Politicians in the Arab Region.
In 2011, an investigation against her was launched on the pretext that Nazra had illegally accepted foreign funding and she supports women to obtain “irresponsible liberty”. In 2016 a travel ban was imposed upon her. Because of the asset freeze of Nazra and her assets, Nazra was forced to close its office. Despite all obstacles, she continues her struggle to end violations of women’s rights and make them visible.
First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to be a recipient of The Hrant Dink Award.
By receiving this award, I am honored to join a group of feminists around the world, who have received this award before me for their efforts to combat all forms of discrimination against women and other vulnerable groups.
Hrant Dink sincerely believed in democracy and human rights to create a world more just and tolerant by communicating through the language of peace and creating spaces for different voices.
Hrant Dink was assassinated in January 2007 in the midst of being on trial for violating article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code which makes it illegal to insult Turkey, which in this case meant speaking up about the inequalities facing the Armenian community and the need for democracy for Turkey.
This award does not only honor Hrant Dink’s life and his continuous efforts to live up to his ideals, it opens our eyes to how seeking peaceful change is a struggle that usually comes with a price and jeopardizes our personal and professional lives along with our safety.
Given that, I believe that the struggle against gender inequalities, discrimination, oppression, and sexual violence against women is essential despite personal risks, especially now more than ever when feminists and WHRDs are being violently targeted by authoritarian leaders.
Just last month, a Kurdish-Turkish lawyer Ebru Timtik has died after 238 days of a hunger strike in demand for a fair trial, a reminder of what it feels like fighting in a world where standing up for one and others’ rights is in and of itself a dangerous act.
Being among you today and receiving the prestigious award, despite ruling dictators from different parts of the world, honors the causes I have been working on, primarily violence against WHRDs and sexual violence against women in the country I am from, Egypt, and other MENA countries.
Standing up against prejudice, sexism and discrimination is a continuous struggle with many complexities for a feminist. I believe that throughout history, feminists have not been only fighting patriarchal cultures and practices, they have been working and struggling against patriarchal authoritarian regimes and fundamentalists to create and maintain their movements.
Imagine a world full of oppression and injustice against feminists that is complicated by a global crisis such as the COVID-19 Pandemic. This crisis imposes further inequalities leading to questions regarding the kind of realities feminists are facing while attempting to fight against all forms of discrimination.
How can we, in Egypt and other MENA countries, devise new tools or look for similar experiences to continue working towards a more just world for women and other vulnerable groups?
In today’s event, we are all participating virtually due to the imposed measures against COVID-19.
For you, it may feel like a foreign and harsh experience of leading a constrained life or what is now being called the “new-normal”; however, I personally feel more equal to my counterparts because as of May 2016, I have been under a travel ban imposed by the national authorities as a punishment for my work as a feminist activist..
This travel ban is just a part of the many pressuring tools used on me and the organization I founded, Nazra for Feminist Studies. A few years back I was summoned for an investigation on a case that would’ve resulted in a life sentence in prison while Nazra and my personal assets got frozen.
For four years now I have been living with this feeling of lockdown and entrapment, I have been prepared to lead the “new-normal” life a long ago which made me think of the different tools I can use to combat sexual violence in my region and continue my passion for the feminist movement.
Being presented with such an honourable award today makes it all worthwhile and reminds me to never lose hope regardless of the consequences and to always keep fighting regardless of the repercussions, so I genuinely thank you from all my heart.