Years before the revolution, many women involved in the actual 2011 uprising were already using their computers, their mobile phones and their networks to spread information about a need for change. Egyptian female activists have long been involved in groups such as the April 6th[1] and the Kefaya[2] movements using these tools.
Social media networks disseminated news of problems that led to the uprising: abuse by the police of citizens, corruption in the government sector, mismanagement of public funds and lack of opportunities. This had an impact on the revolt but cannot be described as the main factor since it is estimated that only 24 % of the country is connected to the internet.
There’s no doubt that when Egyptians were ready to push for a change in 2011, social media amplified this readiness and allowed its propagation to millions of citizens. People started realizing that they were not alone. This gave many the bravery to get out on the streets for the first time in their lives. The revolution itself and many demonstrations were heavily documented by avid twitter users as explained in the interview with Nihal Saad Zaghoul .
Today, social media continues to be a critical tool enabling change with a network as Facebook penetrating 15 % of the country. Overall, women are still left behind : there are 37% of users in Egypt who are female versus 63% who are male. This is due to various factors, one of them being the simple fact that less women than men work outside the family home in offices with easy access to the Internet. Even in urban centers, it is more difficult for women to gain access to a computer because of lack of money, difficulties going alone to an Internet café and fear of street harassment.
[1] The April 6 Youth Movement is an Egyptian activist group that was born in the Spring 2008 to support the workers of the industrial city of El-Mahalla El-Kubra. This is the place that saw the first big demonstrations demanding better life standards and contesting Mubarak’s re-election results of 2008.
[2] Kefaya is an Egyptian grassroots coalition of many political factions that were opposed to the Mubarak’s continuous ruling of Egypt. The movement was born in 2004 and tried to fight the alarming rise of political corruption and other bothersome signs related to the elite’s ruling of the country.