Since seizing power in Egypt, the Sisi regime has been cracking down on NGOs and homosexuality (among other things), and the latest move by the curiously-named Ministry of Social Solidarity strikes both targets in a single blow.

The ministry is investigating a Giza-based NGO which is said to have been promoting sexual health – including safer sex for gay people.

A statement from the ministry (in Arabic) says this activity was "contrary to the text of Article 11 of the Societies Act No. 84 of 2002, in which it is prohibited to exercise an activity that threatens national unity or contrary to public order or morals or the call to distinguish between citizens on grounds of sex, origin, color or creed".

In what may be a small sign of progress, or perhaps just an accident, the ministry does use the non-judgmental word mithliyyin to refer to gay people, rather than the more traditional shawadh – "perverts". Sections of the Egyptian press have been less circumspect, with al-Watan newspaper warning that the NGO (as yet unnamed) could eventually turn into "an assembly centre for sexual deviants".

Egypt has no specific law against homosexuality but the authorities often bring prosecutions for "debauchery" under an old law that was originally intended to combat prostitution. The regime's crackdown against LGBT people has been documented in great detail by Scott Long in his blog, A Paper Bird.

Meanwhile, the authorities are closing NGOs at an alarming rate – 380 of them were shut down in a two-month period earlier this year. This is partly connected with the regime's suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood, targeting Islamic community centres and religious organisations, but it is also directed against civil society activities more generally, including independent human rights groups.

Last month, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) accused Egypt of waging a systematic campaign against NGOs, using "one of the most restrictive civil society laws in the region". In a report on the government's coercive tactics, it said:

"Successive Egyptian governments under the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), President Mohamed Morsi, and most recently President Abdelfattah al-Sisi have all continued to view Egypt’s vibrant civil society and its NGO community in particular as a dangerous threat to their hold on power. 

"Sadly, the environment for NGOs in Egypt – and for those focused on political reform and human rights issues in particular – has steadily grown more and more closed, far exceeding the level of repression under Mubarak. By no means was the environment for NGOs at that time free or open. But a vibrant civil society led by impressive, professional rights organisations was nonetheless able to establish itself. Tragically, today it is unclear whether that community of NGOs will be able to continue to play a meaningful role in Egypt’s future."

     
Posted by Brian Whitaker
Wedensday, 8 April 2015