Egypt Rises Up: The 2011 Egyptian Revolution: Bread, Freedom, Dignity

The 2011 Egyptian revolution is undoubtedly one of the most important socio-political events in modern history. Spanning a mere 18 days, from January 15 until February 11, the revolution began with street protests calling for social, economic and political reforms and ended with the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. The revolution has given rise to a multitude of questions and intersectional analyses that have looked at social, economic and political factors that came together to bring about the Arab Spring. Taking Egypt as a case study, this research focused on the narratives of protesters, specifically the concept of dignity as one of the major aspects of the protester’s demands, and how the concept of dignity relates to the social, political and economic factors in narratives of the revolution. The research was carried out during the months of July and August 2011 in Cairo and consisted of interviews with protesters and activists. The findings indicate that narratives of the state feature predominantly, in particular police brutality, the 2010 parliamentary elections, corruption, and passing of the presidency to Gamal Mubarak. It became clear that social class and generation were the two prominent social relations that led to and impacted the revolution. Finally, with regards to the research question, it became clear that dignity was a thread that ran through most elements and narratives. While much research is yet to be done on the revolution, this work aims to contribute towards an understanding of the revolution from a socio-historical perspective through the personal medium of the narrative.