The Guardian has more on Salwa Bugaighis.
Bugaighis, a lawyer from a prominent Benghazi family, was among the first to the barricades in Libya’s 2011 Arab spring revolution, and later resigned from the first rebel administration, the National Transitional Council, accusing it of freezing-out female members.
She was identified as perhaps the most charismatic figure in Libya’s women’s movement, supporting a successful campaign to establish minimum quotas for female lawmakers in parliament. She also opposed moves to make the wearing of the hijab compulsory, and her views brought her into conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist extremists.
“The killing seems intended to silence critics and muzzle dissent,” said Hanan Salah of Human Rights Watch. “Her conviction that dialogue is the only way out for Libya is now forever silent.”
This year Bugaighis and her husband left Libya with their three young children after one child was threatened by gunmen. But the couple returned recently, vowing to continue campaigning.
And the gunmen got them. Her husband is still missing.
Hassan Morajea, a student from Tripoli, said the lawyer was respected by men and women alike for her zeal. “Not only did she have something to say, but she knew how to say it, she was able to articulate what we all thought,” said Morajea.
Most recently Bugaighis had been a prominent member of a commission trying to bridge Libya’s growing factional divide. That divide appeared as wide as ever on Thursday, with rival militias deployed on the streets of Tripoli and the supreme court suspending sessions amid fears of violence.
When in doubt, kill all the best people.
Yep, killing the people who effectively oppose you is a powerful tool, much more than arguing. Wonder when we’ll start seeing it here?
“When in doubt, kill all the best people.”
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And Salwa Bugaighis .and her family were clearly amongst Libya’s most courageous and best. By contrast It takes no particular courage to join a gang of thugs: just perhaps a career aspiration to become ultimately part of a despot’s regime..
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What reason do we have to think her (their, probably) assassins felt any doubt at all?
My condolences to Salwa Bugaighis’es family and friends.
Tragic news and such a miserable situation. The world is the worse for losing her – and so many others who have recently fallen victim to Jihadist terrorism and warlords of the so-called “religion of peace.”
If Islam is supposed to be so damned peaceful, why do dissidents end up dead so often? Methinks I smell bullshit…
Why isn’t the headline “Islamist gunmen murder leading Libyan woman who opposed the Muslim Brotherhood”?
Oh, that would be labeled Islamophobic, right? Journalists are no longer allowed to state who the terrorists really are. Thank God I’m a Christian living through these end times with faith in Jesus Christ. If I am wrong to write this message to honor a brave Libyan woman now silenced and no longer able to tell her truth about the global risks of Islam especially to women, then I ask not any man but my Savior to forgive me.
reverendjanlifecoach @ #6
My understanding of how Ophelia titles her posts is she does so by lifting an actual phrase from the text she is quoting. She does this all the time, often going for understatement. You can see the phrase she chose in the second paragraph of quoted text. And trust me, she has no illusions about the “religion of peace”. She also has no illusions about Christianity either, particularly its interference with women’s health care, same sex marriage and undue, unearned privilege in the halls of American government at all levels. There’s also her series of posts on the historical and ongoing role of the church in Ireland in interfering with law and healthcare. At times when Christian churches had the power, they were as righteously murderous as Islam currently is. Christian led persecution of “witches” in African communities continues, which, if you follow this blog, you already know.
Oh, and by the way your “end times” have been on their way for almost two thousand years; you might want to pack a lunch.
In America, terrorists are mostly white Christian men. I certainly wish we’d call them by name more than we do. However in this case, it doesn’t sound like they know for sure who the gunmen are so it’s probably wise for journalists to resist slinging accusations. I assume it’s Islamists too, and am certainly not afraid to say that, but I’m not a journalist and my career doesn’t ride on adhering to certain standards.