Sara Hegazy initially made headlines in 2017 after she was imprisoned and tortured in Egypt for waving a Pride flag at a concert by Mashrou’ Leila in Cairo. Mashrou’ Leila is a popular Lebanese alternative rock band whose lead singer is openly gay.
Sara was arrested alongside about 30 other people for the public show of support for LGBT rights in the conservative country. A report by Reuters shows that Sara Hegazy first woman involved in such an incident in years. In an interview with NPR, Sara said that waving the flag was “an act of support and solidarity… for everyone who is oppressed. We were proud to hold the flag. We wouldn’t have imagined the reaction of society and the Egyptian state. For them, I was a criminal – someone who was seeking to destroy the moral structure of society.”
After being freed from prison, Sara claimed Asylum in Canada, but she continued to suffer a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from her experience in prison. “Prison killed me. It destroyed me,” she said of her prison experience.
On Sunday, Sara Hegazy took her own life. PinkNews reports that she left a hand-written note in Arabic behind. It reads: “To my siblings — I tried to find redemption and failed, forgive me. To my friends — the experience [journey] 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.”
Once the news of her death got on social media, many LGBTQ+ persons, activists, and allies paid their tribute to Sara using the hashtag #RaiseTheFlagForSarah
Her name was #SarahHegazi. She was assaulted & imprisoned in #Egypt for raising the #prideflag at a concert. She recently committed suicide.
We #RaiseTheFlagForSarah 🏳️🌈 to send a clear message: Violence against #LGBTQ & women will no longer be worn as a badge of honor in Egypt. pic.twitter.com/vdIhzWU3Fy
— 𓆃 Reem Abdellatif – ريم عبداللطيف (@Reem_Abdellatif) June 14, 2020
Yesterday, Egyptian #LGBTQ activist Sarah Hegazi died by suicide in Canada where she lived in exile. She was imprisoned and tortured for months in Egypt after flying a rainbow flag at a 2017 @mashrou3leila concert in Cairo.
Today, we #RaiseTheFlagForSarah.
🎨 by @ArtQuuerHabibi pic.twitter.com/eKNf242Cj8
— Pride (@Pride) June 15, 2020
The world is so cruel! I’m sorry to every single person whose spirit the world crushed just cz they dared to b unapologetically thmslvs&make this world a better place! Just cz they want to spread love&b loved! Look at tht smile! My heart is broken. RIP angel #RaiseTheFlagForSarah pic.twitter.com/2DsNOMsEcN
— rue. (@aceofhartsx) June 15, 2020
PinkNews reports that Sara Hegazy’s supporters held a candlelit vigil to support her in front of the Egyptian Embassy in London yesterday, 17th June 2020. The support is not just in London.
In several countries around the world, from Brooklyn to Beirut and Berlin, the LGBT+ community honours Hegazy and the struggle she faced.
