We used to work together in the same company during the 25 January Revolution, a genius upper-middle class young man in his mid-twenties and I was his manager. We would run into each other in Tahrir Square chanting the same slogans of âbread, freedom and social justiceâ, and carrying the same banners demanding change. After …
âWe [judges] are the masters and the rest are the slavesâ is indeed the most memorable quote by Egyptâs new Justice Minister Ahmed Al-Zind, head of the Judgesâ Club. The rest of this sentence as said by Al-Zind during a phone interview on a TV show was: âWhatever represents an attack on the Judiciaryâs prestige, …
Since the revolution and until a few months ago, with every news item published, Egyptians of all walks of life would begin analysing and discussing the significance of said news item. Different opinions and agitated discussions would be heard on the streets, on social media and with friends. Analyses floated around, mostly made up of …
In late 2013, the Thomson Reuters Foundation conducted its third annual poll on womenâs rights in Arab states. 336 specialists designed the poll to assess the extent to which states adhere to key provisions of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which most Arab League states have signed, ratified or …
It was back in the late 1980s when I, a young teenager then, visited my Syrian side of the family. In the garden of a family memberâs villa, a group of us, all teenagers, gathered late at night and started telling jokes. The Syrians love the Egyptian sense of humour and jokes, and so I …
Amnesty International said last week that Egypt is witnessing a âcatastrophicâ decline in human rights. Indeed, human rights conditions in Egypt are currently a disaster, but the âcatastropheâ Egyptians are witnessing these days is all-encompassing. On Friday, the government announced an increase in fuel prices â a step every government has struggled to take and …
The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict was held last week in London, the largest gathering to ever happen on the subject. Co-chaired by the UK foreign secretary William Hague and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, the summit gathered delegations from 129 countries, including 79 ministers. This gathering aimed at bringing the international …
âWho is the alternative?â This was indeed the most repeated and frustrating question asked by the pro-Sisi camp during the past two weeks, before and during the surreal presidential election that brought a military man to power after three years of calls for democracy. The question is frustrating because this camp thinks that the ârevolutionâ …
âEgyptâs youth is its hope; they need to give and not expect to take anything now.â âEgypt needs a lot from us. Egyptâs youth should not be thinking about when will they be able to get married or when will they âliveâ, they need to build the country first.â âOur economic situation is extremely difficult, …
A couple of weeks ago, on my road back home using 6 October Bridge, I managed to avoid hitting two young girls â girls so little as to be invisible unless right in front of the car. For a full week, I saw them selling tissues in the same spot, and every day I could …
In late 2013, Thomson Reuters conducted a poll ranking Egypt the worst country among 22 Arab League states for womenâs rights. The poll measured womenâs status in six different categories. First, âWomen in politicsâ calculated womenâs civil representation and presence in high public positions. âWomen in societyâ measured tradition and cultural expectations and limitations of …
Since the new constitution passed, I have been flooded with emails and meetings from foreign journalists, lawyers, rights advocates and what have you, asking the same question: Isnât the newly passed constitution better in preserving human rights and freedoms, compared to the previous one(s)? And shouldnât this be enough for Egyptians? I have faced the …
In the past month, as a journalist, I was involved in discussions with several organisations that defend and protect journalists on the best way to handle Egyptâs crackdown on journalists and how to protect them. My opinion was always the same: in a country that follows no law, there can be no protection. There is …
Today marks the anniversary of the appointment of Mohamed Ibrahim as Egyptâs Minister of Interior. And so another year begins with the man who survived it all, whose forces killed indiscriminately under his command and proved to all the people of Egypt that the Ministry of Interior is the regimeâs tool to oppress; any regime …
This will be the third year in a row that Egyptians will vote on a constitution. Yet another referendum with yet another Yes campaign. Vote Yes for stability , they said in 2011. Vote Yes for Islam, they said in 2012. Vote Yes for your country, they are saying in 2013. Never are there campaigns …
When I got into the newsroom Tuesday morning, a heated discussion between my colleagues was ongoing about whether or not to publish Michele Bachmannâs piece (which was sent to us by her office). Most of the young democracy-passionate reporters were vehemently against publishing her, very few were for it, and our Opinion editor was quite …
A 16 year old boy, the son of an acquaintance, went to attend the Ghana-Egypt match dressed in an Al-Ahly t-shirt and holding a fireworks stick. The boy watched the match, left and was taking a cab when the police arrested him, charging him with participating in Mohamed Mahmoud clashes. Why is this alright? Because …
The thing about the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes specifically is the mere fact that those who had never joined a protest even through the 18 glorious days took to that one. They did so not because they wanted to grab power or even present a political demand, but in defence of family members of those who …
On 23 March 2011, under the rule of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and two months after the 25 January Revolution, the then-cabinet of Essam Sharaf approved a protest law that criminalised strikes, protests, demonstrations and sit-ins that âinterrupt private or state owned businesses or affect the economy in any wayâ. The law …
There will be no progress, as long as we keep repeating the same mistakes, as long as hypocrisy and lies are the name of the game, as long as no real change happens. There will be no progress in the Tourism industry, as long as our government continues to believe that it is a âmarketingâ …
âEgypt needs to revert back to the democratic path,â is a common line thrown in our faces from every Tom, Dick and Harry across the world. Â Egyptâs leaders diplomatically respond with the roadmap of election, constitution drafting and the rest of the plan they have in mind. Being on the ground, dealing day-to-day with that …
For three years, Egyptians have been taking to the streets demanding democracy, social justice and freedom, and for three years they have been denied. They are being cornered over and over into making tough choices, then end up choosing what they deem âless horribleâ and the results have never lived up to their aspirations. As …
On Thursday 4 July, state owned news agency MENA and several international agencies, reported that the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, was arrested along with his deputy Khairat El-Shater. We published the news. On Friday 5 July, Badie was giving a speech from the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in where thousands of his supporters …
Back in 25 January 2011, the revolutionaries who started the uprising were later joined by the Muslim Brotherhood, who contributed in relatively increasing the number of protesters. But what made all the difference was the participation of what is called âthe silent bloc;â after that, the number of people on the streets soared and the …
For 23 years, Egyptâs cultural scene was in the hands of Farouq Hosny. One can write volumes on the man, rumours mixed with truths until his reputation was completely ruined. What we do know though is that he was a lousy painter; he painted like a six year old and yet he was able to …
Living in a country populated by people both gifted with a strong sense of humour and beset by stark contradictions, following the news can put one in a predicament of whether to laugh out loud or shed bloody tears. I thought this week I would like to recap on some dark comedy material that hit …
The mufti is a Muslim legal expert who is empowered to give rulings on religious matters. Every country that defines itself as Muslim has a grand mufti and an Iftaa institution that includes hundreds of muftis. These muftis have a specific education and must study an array of Islamic subjects, based on which sect of …
It was quite surprising to sense optimism in some people’s voices when they received news on the cabinet reshuffle, disrespectfully announced in a tweet by Morsi. All the signs indicate an even worse government taking over. First of all the prime minister remains, which means that inadequacy will continue to be the main characteristic of the new cabinet. For …
Was the minister really sexually harassing the young reporter?
You canât push a person to be peaceful and love others, but you can enforce the law