The Radical Potential of Mothering during the Egyptian Revolution

During the central perioD of the egyptian revolution—generally recognized as the eighteen days between January 25 and February 11, 2011—as well as the months that followed, mainstream Egyptian and US media discourses reified patriarchal nationalist notions of mothering and revolution. A Reuters article reflecting this pattern focused on celebrations that began the night before Mubarak’s ouster: “Mothers pushed little children in strollers, with red, white and black Egyptian flags painted on toddlers’ cheeks. People waved the national flag, danced and sang patriotic songs as soldiers looked on.” 1 This story, like many popular accounts of the Arab Spring, used images of mothers and children to underscore the point that all sectors of society participated, the implication being that even mothers—those subjects most “unpolitical,” “innocent,” and “unknowing,” even those most “sacred,” most disconnected from public space, and most closely connected to domestic reproductive labor—took to the streets.