In the wake of an Egyptian activist’s suicide, young people on social media collectively mourned and shared her story. Using the Arabic hashtag “zainab_mahdi” مهدي_زينب# , one Twitter user expressed “sorrow and pain” for Zainab al-Mahdi’s death.
Zainab took her own life at her West Cairo home on Thursday, November 14, 2014. She was in her early twenties and a graduate of the Al-Azhar University in Cairo. A politically active person, she had supported the Muslim Brotherhood, but left the organization at the onset of the 2011 revolution. Despite vocally criticizing Mohammed Morsi, the popularly elected president ousted by a military coup in July 2013, Zainab was present at mass sit-ins in Rabaa Square, supporting the deposed president and opposing the military-led takeover that was then taking place. It was a testament to al-Mahdi’s unflinching bravery and commitment that she stood with supporters of a leader with whom she openly disagreed. On August 14, 2013, the Egyptian military and police killed hundreds of activists camped out at Rabaa.
While Egypt has been in a state of flux since the start of the revolution, Morsi’s ouster has catapulted the country into a complete state of turmoil. After the brief reign of an interim president, the military-backed (and popularly elected) former general Abdel Fattah El-Sisi assumed the reigns of power. Sisi’s regime has had little appetite for civilian mobilization and has continued the crackdown against protests, which started after Morsi’s fall.
Since July 2013, many young, resilient women just like al-Mahdi, have been arrested and jailed simply for staging public gatherings. Like so many government’s around the world, the Egyptian regime has come out against its activist youth, suppressing a movement to which many like al-Mahdi had dedicated themselves. On Twitter, many who mourned her passing believed these circumstances emotionally wounded al-Mahdi.
Often, our deepest frustrations take root when failure follows success. Prior to her death, al-Mahdi told friends she was feeling increasingly upset about the state Egypt was in and expressed sadness about the halted progress of the revolution she had worked so hard to support. Her suicide came not long after another Egyptian took his own life; Farag Rizk publicly hung himself from a billboard in Cairo in September 2014.
Both are tragic episodes, inspired by emotions that undoubtedly resonate with countless Egyptians living through the current upheaval.
Al-Mahdi’s death reflects the helplessness and isolation young activists often feel in the face of hostile, systemic suppression. While suicide is taboo in Egypt, hundreds came together online to collectively mourn and uplift one another in the aftermath of al-Mahdi’s death.
Zaineb Al-Mahdi was a woman who will not easily be forgotten. Her death is a potent reminder of the emotional toll revolutionary work can take and the consequences that come from a government’s efforts in silencing its people, which cannot be forgotten or minimized.
