It seems very few media observers noticed, but Al Jazeera English did not report on the brutal attack against CBS correspondent Lara Logan in Egypt last week. Shocking, yes, but the truth. Sure, there was a brief mention on their blog, but there was no report, no discussion, Al Jazeera English said no to the story, even as it blew up and became the top story for a 24 hour news period. It was a failure, one of the few in the past month, but still a massive failure.
Why? According to the network, they did not report on the story because reporters cannot be part of the story and should never lead a news piece. Interesting because throughout the 18 days of the Egyptian revolution, media were often at the forefront of Al Jazeera’s coverage. They talked about the rise in attacks, the arrests, the detentions and the violence directed against their very own staff.
The leading global news network missed an opportunity to push discussion in a new direction. Al Jazeera has the respect of the Arab world and most journalists for their continued coverage of Egypt starting January 25, and its subsequent coverage of protests throughout the region. What they missed in covering Ms. Logan’s horrific attack was an opportunity to deal with sexual violence in Egypt. The lack of coverage is not only shocking, it is unethical. After having reported and given air time to the situation facing its reporters, it appears Al Jazeera was not willing to give the same due time to a rival reporter, one enduring arguably a worse experience. It is unacceptable that the Qatar-based network remained, and remains, silent.
Logan’s experience in Tahrir Square on February 11, as Egyptians were celebrating the end of the Hosni Mubarak era, was not unlike many similar situations experienced by Egyptian and foreign women in the country pre-revolution. Al Jazeera English has a duty to its viewers to cover the story, to talk about sexual violence and harassment in Egypt. Is that not what they do, push boundaries? It appears only if those boundaries can be pushed by their own staff. It appears they were unwilling to discuss what happened to a CBS reporter. And it is sad.
Sexual violence against women in Egypt has been a long and enduring social problem facing Egyptian society. Logan’s situation gives all media reporting and discussing on Egypt an opportunity to delve into the issue. By not covering the situation, Al Jazeera made a political decision. They seemed to gloss over the story for fear it would tarnish the Egyptian Revolution. This is not the case. There is no need to apologize to Ms. Logan. What needs to happen, and Al Jazeera is uniquely positioned to make this happen, is to hold a discussion, to report on sexual violence and its causes in Egypt. Already the international and local media have become quiet on sexual violence in Egypt.
The fact that a political decision was made to “maintain” the reputation of the Egyptian revolution is wrong. Instead, Al Jazeera could have used its pulpit to openly engage Egyptians on sexual violence and why it remains a stain on Egyptian society. This is what Al Jazeera does so well, so for them to shy away from the reporting reveals that it is still difficult to respect and expect a new network to take a socially responsible outlook on what they are reporting. To think that the strength of the Egyptian revolution would suffer from a discussion on the negatives in Egyptian society, as the country looks forward to change and a better future is contradictory. Is that not what the change is all about? I think so, and that is why Bikya Masr hopes to maintain in the coming days and weeks: a real look into sexual violence and the need for women’s voices to emerge in the new Egypt.