Egypt’s bloggers; MDGs v revolution; brides for toilets; UN Women; a Green Wall across Africa; Gadaffi as fashion icon: links I liked

So much to read, so little time….

Two Egyptian bloggers reflect on events:
‘I’m not sure how long the general Egyptian public can maintain the bizarre idea that the army is so great. This is the army that took power in a coup in 1952 and ended political pluralism, lost tons of wars after that and continued to justify its predation on the national budget despite not having had to fight anyone since 1973.’ Reality check from blogger Issandr El Amrani.

“In that moment, I could feel the joy, relief, and release of every Egyptian in the world that had followed the revolution. In that moment, I cried with the people in Alexandria. In that moment, I laughed with the people in Suez. In that moment, I sang Egypt’s national anthem with the people in Meydan Tahrir. It is something that I never thought I would see.”  Sophia Azeb [h/t Texas in Africa]

“A recent initiative gauging progress on the millennium development goals ranks Tunisia as joint first among 137 countries, while Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran are ranked joint third.” Alasdair McWilliam wonders why if the Muslim tigers are apparently doing so well on human development, their peoples are so dissatisfied – what are the MDGs missing?

“If you don’t have a toilet at home, you might not get a bride in India. In a silent revolution of sorts, Indian women across the country, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, have a single condition before they agree to a match – the groom must have a toilet in his home.”

After years of planning, fundraising and consultations, U.N. Women was officially launched by its Executive Director, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet. Formally known as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, U.N. Women combines four pre-existing U.N. agencies into one. So what should it do? Oxfam released a report called the ‘Blueprint for U.N. Women’, based on a comprehensive survey of grassroots women’s groups, leaders and activists from over 25 countries. An overwhelming majority of women believe that ending violence against women must be the first and most urgent priority of U.N. Women. Anyone listening? [h/t Bert Maerten]

“Imagine a green wall – 15km wide, and up to 8,000km long – a living green wall of trees and bushes, full of birds and other animals. Imagine it just south of the Sahara, from Djibouti in the Horn of Africa in the east, all the way across the continent to Dakar, Senegal, in the west. The wall envisioned by 11 African countries on the southern border of the Sahara, and their international partners, is aimed at limiting the desertification of the Sahel zone” Green geoengineering anyone?

And a little light relief: Gaddafi as fashion icon (or not), c/o Vanity Fair. (doubtless politically incorrect, but it’s OK, humour is always in the frontline against oppression).  [h/t Ian Bray]