Like many activists, I was happy with the recent verdicts against the groups of male offenders charged with raping and sexually assaulting women in Cairo’s streets. The rulings, which served up life sentences and long prison terms to the instigators of three separate incidents, are an improvement in the justice system’s troubling approach to violent […]

The legend of the gendarme, known by Egyptians from old movies, has resurfaced in Egypt’s streets.   Interior Minister Major General Mohamed Ibrahim issued a decision on July 16 approving the return of gendarmes to the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Luxor and Aswan.  After being absent for more than 60 years, gendarmes appeared again […]

“We are always needed whether in times of grief, joy or political events. We are the first to come and the last to leave,” said Zein Abdulfattah, owner of a tent equipment business in Alexandria he inherited from his father and grandfather. Abdulfattah pitches tents for weddings, funeral ceremonies, Ramadan’s charitable banquets, election campaigns and […]

At first glance, the spectrum of popular TV series screened during Ramadan appeared devoid of the blaring political discourse that gripped national media in the revolutionary atmosphere of January 2011 and June 2013.  But a closer examination of highly watched comedies and dramas reveals that viewers continue to identify with shows that present difficult political […]

A Palestinian friend told me the Egyptian stance on Gaza was shameful. But then he corrected himself: “The stance of the authorities is shameful but there is certainly a big difference between the people and the government.”  A Palestinian friend told me the Egyptian stance on Gaza was shameful. But then he corrected himself: “The […]

Dear Awatef, Zamalek winning the Egypt Cup 2014 last week was the main reason I slept deeply for more than eight hours. It was very convenient. I have not had such sound sleep for a very long time. I used to sleep five hours a day before the revolution and even during a few months […]

The 2014 parliamentary elections will be held amidst a notable parliamentary vacancy, with the absence of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Center for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS) – the main supporter of independent unions, established at the end of Mubarak’s reign and after the January 25 Revolution – is trying to fill that opening […]

One day before the formation of the Supreme Parliamentary Election Committee (SPEC), the Cairo Court of Appeal issued an order to lift a ban on National Democratic Party (NDP) leaders running for parliamentary and municipal elections. “Some NDP members were actually honest,” said Mohammed Fahmi Saleh, Secretary of the Republican People’s Party and a former […]

Mustafa Bahgat is an Egyptian video journalist who has shot many vital events since the revolution, including many serious clashes. Before the revolution, Bahgat worked for the Al-Masry al-Youm press institution, and now works for Egypt’s ON TV network. Mr. Bahgat, do you feel that video journalists in Egypt are working in a hostile environment? […]

The parliamentary elections are the final step of the three-step road map in Egypt, following the constitution referendum and the presidential elections – both being held this year. Although no official date has yet been set for the parliamentary elections, candidates have started searching for a party list to join to ensure people and party […]