Bust of NEFERTITI by TUTMOSE (Amarna period 1345 b.c.)
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Sarah Hegazi, a 30-year-old queer activist from Egypt, died by suicide in Canada on June 14. Hegazi’s death was confirmed by her lawyers. Hegazi had been exiled to Canada from her native Egypt after being released from prison in 2017. She had served time in Egyptian jail for ‘promoting sexual deviancy and debauchery.’ The charge came after images of her raising a rainbow flag at a concert in Cairo circulated online in 2017. 56 others at the concert were arrested on similar charges. Hegazi was reportedly raped and tortured while imprisoned.
Before she died, Hegazi wrote a letter that said: ‘To my siblings – I tried to find redemption and failed, forgive me. To my friends – the experience was harsh and I am too weak to resist it, forgive me. To the world – you were cruel to a great extent, but I forgive.’ Her death drew messages of both sadness and support from Egypt’s LGBTQ+ community and from queer activists across the world. Members of the band at whose concert she had been arrested posted videos of the concert to Instagram stating ‘Sarah’s Cairo, September 2017 - Remembering a night of infinite possibilities of a fairer and brighter Future. Sarah Hegazi, Rest in power 🌈 Rest in Pride.’ [NYT]
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