Thread by @monaeltahawy

I saw #Happening last night. Set in 1960s France and based on the Annie Ernaux memoir, it is the most vivid portrayal of (illegal) abortion I have ever seen and will stay with me. It is on general release via @IFCFilms in the U.S. May 6.

I know what it is like to have an "illegal" abortion. I wrote about it here and will be writing more about #Happening soon and The Janes, an upcoming @HBO documentary soon.

feministgiant.com/p/abortion-is-…

My essay is also available as an audio essay (click on the link above) and in Arabic.

I had my 1st abortion in Egypt, where abortion remains illegal in almost all cases. And my 2nd abortion in the U.S. where abortion rights are being gutted feministgiant.com/p/-?s=w

"I wrote Happening to preserve the memory of the savagery inflicted on millions of girls and women," Annie Ernaux #Happening @IFCFilms
theguardian.com/film/2022/apr/…

"In the pre-Roe v. Wade era –– a time when abortion was a crime in most states and even circulating information about abortion was a felony in Illinois –– the Janes provided low-cost and free abortions to an estimated 11,000 women." #TheJanes @HBO hbo.com/movies/the-jan…

"The Janes tells the story of a group of unlikely outlaws. Defying the state legislature that outlawed abortion,the Catholic Church that condemned it & the Chicago Mob that was profiting from it,the members of Jane risked their personal & professional lives to help women in need"

My "illegal" abortion in Egypt was by a (male) OB/GYN I found through my boyfriend's cousin. Criminalizing abortion doesn't eradicate it nor makes it rare. It makes it dangerous & often deadly for the poorest and most vulnerable people who can get pregnant feministgiant.com/p/abortion-is-…

It took me 25 years to be able to write about my abortions.

Why?

I have asked that of myself over and over. And to answer, and to fill in the years of silence, I will write about them again and again. feministgiant.com