Wael Ghonim’s Role in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

Answer

Wael Ghonim’s Role in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

            Social change, attributed to a group or a person, involves people refusing to be victims and taking action against injustices. This paper seeks to illustrate a brief summary of the events that led to the 2011 Egyptian revolution highlighting, the important involvement of Ghonim. Furthermore, the paper describes the governmental and other changes that took place as a result of the revolution. The paper further discusses what type of movement the 2011 Egyptian movement was while shedding some light on the theory that best applies to this movement.

            Ghonim was a key figure in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Widespread increase of police brutality in Mubarak’s presidency made Wael Ghonim – a father of two and a regional manager at Google – to create a Facebook page in July 2010. It was dubbed “We Are All Khaled Said” in a bid to publicize the death of an innocent 28-year-old Egyptian, who was mercilessly beaten to death by the police (Nurwisah). The page gradually garnered a large number of members. In January 2011, a political revolution in Tunisia jolted Ghonim and other internet activists to do the same in Egypt. He anonymously posted anti-government messages to the group while in Dubai. He organized the protesters fueling their momentum resulting in the famous Tahrir Square protests. When Ghonim arrived in Egypt to take part in the protests, he was captured by plainclothes policemen and he disappeared for eleven days during which there were heavy confrontations between protesters and the police leading to mass deaths. After being released, Ghonim took part in an interview where he broke down and cried when he was shown pictures of protesters who had died in clashes. Ghonim’s emotional reaction to the deaths during an interview after his release re-energized protesters resulting in more youth turning up for the protests and the ultimate resignation of Mubarak in February 11. Thus, Ghonim was a key figure in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

            Several changes came into effect as a result of the movement. There was a charge of government as the autocrat, Mubarak, relinquished power to the military (Gaber). The military dissolved parliament taking full control of the country. They further suspended the constitution as they sought to make amendments to it as requested by the protesters. Consequently, constitutional amendments came into effect and a referendum on the amendments was held. Moreover, all the army generals who had served in Mubarak’s oppressive regime were forced to retire. Parliamentary and presidential elections were later held and a democratically elected president was sworn in. Hence, several changes came into effect as a result of the movement. 

            The 2011 Egyptian movement was a resistance movement. A resistance movement is defined as an orderly effort by the civil residents of any country to oppose the legitimately established power by disrupting the societal order and civil stability. (Hollander et al.). The 2011 Egyptian movement is considered a resistance movement as it involved non-military residents taking to the streets to protest increased police brutality. The movement was marked by demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience and strikes. Violence was not the aim of the protesters, but there were various confrontations between the police and protesters. The actions of the movement greatly disrupted Egypt’s civil stability, paralyzing operations in Cairo and the tourism industry. Thus, the 2011 Egyptian movement is considered a resistance movement.

              The relative deprivation theory best applies to the 2011 Egyptian movement. The relative deprivation theory explains that whenever people feel deprived of anything they consider essential to their living, they will join social movements that seek to obtain the very things they feel deprived of. Furthermore, comparison is regarded a key component of this theory. In the case of the 2011 Egyptian movement, the civil residents felt that they were deprived of political freedom, freedom of speech and civil liberty in comparison to other democratic countries. They thus came together to form social movements seeking equality and the freedom found in any democratic country. They demonstrated against the government for depriving them of the things they considered integral. Hence, the relative deprivation theory best applies to the 2011 Egyptian movement.  

            In conclusion, Ghonim was a key figure in the 2011 Egyptian revolution resulting in governmental change and constitutional amendment. A resistance movement best defines the 2011 Egyptian movement while the relative deprivation theory best fits this movement.