Gihan Ibrahim’s biography, fact, career, awards, net worth and life story

Gihan Ibrahim, nicknamed Gigi, is an Egyptian journalist, blogger and socialist activist.

She came in the spotlight during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, in which, as a citizen journalists, she documented news events using social media. During the revolution, ‎‎which began on 25 January 2011, millions of protesters from a range of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Early life and education

Ibrahim was born on 12 February 1988 in Long Beach, California.

She attended Orange Coast College in California, and later received a degree in political science from the American University in Cairo, Egypt.

As an activist

At the university, she attended a lecture on Social Mobilization under Authoritarian Regimes, where Hossam el-Hamalawy was a guest speaker. The lecture provided her with information and knowledge about activism in Egypt. Hossam el-Hamalawy was a member of the Revolutionary Socialists and inspired Ibrahim to join the revolution. Ibrahim also became a member of Revolutionary Socialists.

Ibrahim has stated, that while the internet was important for coordinating people in the ousting of president Hosni Mubarak, “it was the battles on the streets that were crucial… it was their power that made the revolution.”

In the middle of the protests, Ibrahim was shot in the back with a rubber bullet.

For her work during the revolution, she was featured on a cover of Time magazine as “one of the leaders” of Tahrir Square. In addition, she also appeared in Frontline, BBC, Al Jazeera and The Daily Show.

She was featured in a documentary by award-winning journalist Inigo Gilmore. The documentary Gigi’s revolution was aired on the PBS Network in the USA, in 2011.

She has been critical of other Egyptian activists such as Wael Ghonim, a software engineer, who called on protesters to go home after Mubarak had ceded some power but refused to step down as president.

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