[1] She has been credited by journalist Mona Eltahawy and others with helping to spark a mass uprising through her video blog posted one week before the start of the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

[8] Hosni Mubarak had ruled Egypt since 1981, gaining increasing powers over the years and eliminating individual freedoms under an emergency law allowing the police to detain activists without charge.

Young activists in what became known at the April 6 Youth Movement supported the textile workers, encouraging wider action on Facebook and other social networks.

[10] In a video blog posted on Facebook on 18 January, she called on Egyptians to demand their human rights and to voice their disapproval of the regime of Hosni Mubarak.

Following this, she posted another video announcing her intention to go to the square again on 25 January, a national holiday honouring police who had died in a confrontation with British forces.

[15] Mahfouz was released on bail in the amount of E£20,000 (equivalent to approximately US$3,350), and after that the Supreme Council of Armed Forces renounced the charges against Asmaa as well as another activist, Loay Nagaty.

[10] In October 2011 it was announced that, together with four other Arabs, Mahfouz would be awarded the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in recognition of her drive for freedom and human rights.

It was explained that she had helped to motivate Egyptians to demand their rights on Tahrir Square by means of videos on YouTube and posts on Facebook and Twitter.