Gihan Ibrahim

Gihan "Gigi" Ibrahim

Gigi Ibrahim during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011
Born Gihan Ibrahim
(1986-12-02) 2 December 1986[1]
Long Beach, California, United States[2]
Residence Cairo, Egypt
Alma mater American University in Cairo
Known for activism in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011
Political party Revolutionary Socialists

Gihan Ibrahim (Egyptian Arabic: چيهان إبراهيم‎‎, IPA: [ʒiˈhæːn ebɾɑˈhiːm]), nicknamed Gigi (چيچى, [ˈʒiːʒi]), is an Egyptian journalist, blogger and socialist activist. She has been credited as being a part of a new generation of "citizen journalists" who document news events using social media. For this she was featured on a cover of Time magazine as "one of the leaders" of Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.[3] Ibrahim however states, that while the internet was important for coordinating people in the ousting of president Hosni Mubarak, "it was the battles on the streets that were crucial ... [i]t was their power that made the revolution."

She is a graduate from the American University in Cairo[4] where she earned a political science degree.[5] Gigi also attended Orange Coast College in California. Prior to university, Gigi has had no direct links to the workers protests and opposition movements that had previously been occurring in Egypt. It was a lecture on "Social Mobilization under Authoritarian Regimes", where Hossam el-Hamalawy was a guest speaker, that provided her with insight about activism in Egypt.[6] The contact with el-Hamalawy, a member of the Revolutionary Socialists, led her to decide to join the movement.[7]

Aside from Time, she has also appeared in Frontline, BBC, Al Jazeera and The Daily Show.

Gigi was featured in a documentary by award-winning journalist Inigo Gilmore. This production, following her from the earliest days of the revolution, looks at her life not just in Tahrir Square, but also at home, commenting on the reserved view many upper middle class Egyptians initially took against the revolution. The documentary "Gigi's revolution" was aired on the PBS Network in the USA.

She is critical of other Egyptian youth activists such as Wael Ghonim, who called on protesters to go home after Mubarak had ceded some power but refused to step down as president.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.twitter.com/Gsquare86/status/150041211812585472
  2. ↑ Facebook Résumé
  3. ↑ "The world at Boulder's doorstep". Daily Camera. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  4. ↑ Mackey, Robert (27 January 2011). "Interview With an Egyptian Blogger". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Citizen Journalist Gigi Ibrahim Uses Tools of the Web to Spread News of Cairo Protests". About.com. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "Egyptian activist on The Daily Show". Bikya Masr. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Socialist from Egypt to join debate about revolution". Socialist Worker (UK). 12 March 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  8. ↑ Levinson, Charles (18 February 2011). "Splits Emerge Among Egypt's Young Activists". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gigi Ibrahim.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.