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In Memory Of Sarah Hegazi, The Egyptian LGBT Activist
Five years ago Sarah Hegazi attended a Mashrou Leila concert in Cairo. She was subsequently arrested, imprisoned, and tortured for holding up the rainbow flag in support of the LGBT community.
After her release, Sarah sought asylum in Canada and attempted to manage the PTSD caused by her imprisonment, but the stress of her traumatic experience unfortunately led her to suicide. She left behind a note, which read: “To my siblings: I tried to survive and failed, forgive me. To my friends: this is difficult and I am too weak to fight, forgive me. To the world: you were largely cruel but I forgive you.”
Her story resembles the experiences of many LGBT individuals, particularly in the Arab region, where they deem such freedom of expression and being true to oneself a “criminal act against the laws of nature”.
Let us remember Sarah and her bravery, and let her story be a reminder to facilitate change.
For anyone struggling, you can call the Embrace hotline (1564) or contact LebMASH, an organization dedicated to supporting the LGBT community, on their hotline (76 085 714).
Today marks 2 yrs since feminist & queer activist Sarah Hegazi left us & left this world.
— Mai El-Sadany (@maitelsadany) June 13, 2022
For raising a rainbow flag, Sarah was arrested & assaulted by Egyptian authorities, fired from her job, made to live in exile apart from her loved ones.
Remembering her beautiful soul pic.twitter.com/DHSLIXvomV
After her release, Sarah sought asylum in Canada and attempted to manage the PTSD caused by her imprisonment, but the stress of her traumatic experience unfortunately led her to suicide. She left behind a note, which read: “To my siblings: I tried to survive and failed, forgive me. To my friends: this is difficult and I am too weak to fight, forgive me. To the world: you were largely cruel but I forgive you.”
Her story resembles the experiences of many LGBT individuals, particularly in the Arab region, where they deem such freedom of expression and being true to oneself a “criminal act against the laws of nature”.
Let us remember Sarah and her bravery, and let her story be a reminder to facilitate change.
For anyone struggling, you can call the Embrace hotline (1564) or contact LebMASH, an organization dedicated to supporting the LGBT community, on their hotline (76 085 714).
