Archive: egypt

20th February 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Despite warnings that they were breaking the law, hundreds of Egyptians – perhaps more than 1,000 – turned up yesterday to greet Mohamed ElBaradei on his arrival at Cairo airport. Reports from al-Masry al-Youm and DPA describe the scenes, while the Egyptian Chronicles blog links to several video… Read more
19th February 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Following its review of human rights in Egypt on Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Council will be issuing recommendations this afternoon. By an ironic coincidence, this comes as Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the IAEA, winner of the Nobel peace prize and – of more immediate significance – a … Read more
17th February 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Egypt's human rights record is facing scrutiny at the UN in Geneva today. Though the meeting is scheduled to last only three hours, this is the first time Egypt has been in the spotlight at the Human Rights Council under a process that reviews the performance of each member state in turn. Human… Read more
8th February 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Saturday was the UN-sponsored International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. In Egypt, about 1,000 girls took part in a protest in Minya province calling on the government to implement its law against the practice. According to statistics cited by al-Masry al-Youm newspaper,… Read more
19th January 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
A 22-year-old Jordanian man has been arrested for uttering "an insult against an Arab head of state". The head of state in question was Hosni Mubarak and the incident occurred outside the Egyptian embassy in Amman during a demonstration protesting against he construction of the border wall between… Read more
18th January 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
The US State Department has criticised the arrest of a group of activists and bloggers in Egypt who attempted to visit the town of Naga Hammadi and offer condolences over the killing of six Christians and a Muslim security guard. It said in a statementissued on Saturday: The United States is deeply… Read more
16th January 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
At least 18 activists, including some of Egypt's most prominent bloggers, were arrested yesterday when they attempted to visit the town of Naga Hammadi and offer condolences over the killing of six Christians and a Muslim security guard last week.  They were intercepted on arrival, as they stepped… Read more
14th January 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Attempts to stop female students wearing the niqab (face veil) continue to meet resistance in Egypt. Al-Masry al-Youm reports: Arguments broke out between professors and students at Zagazig University's faculty of education, after professors insisted on female students removing their niqabs before… Read more
12th January 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
The niqab controversy in Egypt (see here and here) has taken a new twist, with some female students wearing surgical masks as a substitute for the banned face veil. Al-Masry al-Youm says Cairo university "prohibits girls from wearing the masks as well [as niqab] because it sees it as an attempt to… Read more
11th January 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
An Egyptian women's rights group has rejected a proposal to intoduce women-only taxis in Alexandria. The Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights says the idea is a legal, religious and social setback, as well as a violation of international agreements against discrimination. The organisation is also… Read more