VOA Africa
December 23, 2011
Photo: AP
Egyptian women protesters shout as they raise slogans demanding the head of the military ruling council to step out at Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, December 23, 2011.
The rally, dubbed the "Friday of regaining honor," follows a week in which at least 16 anti-government protesters were killed during clashes with Egyptian security forces.
Many Egyptians are outraged after video footage of one the protests showed a female demonstrator being beaten, dragged and stripped by a group of soldiers.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this week condemned what she called the "systematic degradation of Egyptian women," saying women protesters are being subjected to "horrific abuse."
The military council says it "regrets" the violence against women, and said it would take legal action against those responsible for the abuse.
At least 19 mostly liberal political parties and activist groups are expected to join in the protest. Egypt's biggest Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, will not take part, saying more protests may only slow the transition to civilian leadership.
Some analysts say the Muslim Brotherhood is wary of putting at risk the gains it has made by dominating the first stages of Egypt's parliamentary election process, which began last month.
However, the ultra-conservative Salafist Al-Nur party, which has so far done better than expected in the polls, says it will take part in the protest.
The military is overseeing a three-month parliamentary election process and has promised to hand power to an elected president by July 2012.
But some activists accuse the council of manipulating the country's transition process to retain permanent powers and have called for a presidential vote as early as January.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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