Stories about Egypt
Arabophone Chinese influencer divides public opinion in Egypt
Along with growing traffic to her social media platforms came a new tone in Wang's posts. What seemed as sincere patriotic pride, gave way to a seemingly targeted propaganda.
Can LGBTQ+ rights activism be the key to reversing retrogressive policies in the Middle East?
"From Egypt to Turkey to Iran, governments are pushing back against LGBTQ+ inclusion, even resorting to social media and mobile phones to track and target the community."
Arab content creators use social media to talk about sex, sexuality and reproductive health
'If we continue to avoid these conversations and to treat sexual education like a taboo, we are, in fact, only harming those that we are trying to protect.'
Founder of Egypt's Speak Up: ‘Sexual harassment is a daily fight, but change is happening’
Due to the pressure exerted by initiatives like Speak Up, the government has upped its measures to counter prevalent sexual harassment, passing laws that criminalize the act and support victims.
Human rights groups propose #7FirstSteps to mend Egypt's ‘dismal’ record
#7FirstSteps is the minimum needed "to gauge meaningful improvement in the dismal human rights situation, and include immediate measures that can be implemented tomorrow morning if a political decision is made."
Egyptian TV show reignites political schism over 2013's bloody summer
The show depicts the official narrative of the 2013 coup, and of the security forces' dismantling of a sit-in at Cairo's Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in which nearly 1,000 protesters were killed.
Egypt's 2011 revolt barely exists in school textbooks
Throughout the last decade, pages on Egypt's 2011 uprising in school syllabi have massively shrunk since 2012. Some blame lack of official documents. Others say it's purely political.
Sudan-Ethiopia border tensions mount in conflicted al-Fashqa region
Continual clashes between Ethiopian militia groups and Sudanese farmers in Sudan’s al-Fashqa region have put the Sudanese Army on the defense.
Arab states’ reconciliation with Qatar leaves pro-unity Saudis behind bars
Prominent Saudis, including cleric Salman al-Odah, who spoke against the boycott of Qatar in 2017, face a long list of charges such as incitement against the ruler.
‘Stop silencing MENA critical voices,’ say activists in open letter to Twitter and Facebook
A decade after uprisings heavily relied on social media to topple dictators across the region, human rights defenders denounce these platforms' discrimination against voices of dissent still fight for freedoms.
The power of ‘personal experience': An interview with Egyptian artist Youssef Nabil
Nabil's "technique mixes painting and photography, inspired by hand-painted movie posters of the 1940s and 1950s, and is reminiscent of the pre-digital world."
Pressure mounts on Egypt to release prominent human rights defenders
Three senior members of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), one of Egypt’s most prominent human rights groups, were arrested earlier this month on charges of terrorism.
‘Wiki Loves Africa’ 2020 features images of a continent on the move
"Wiki Loves Africa," encourages people to contribute Africa-relevant media to Wikimedia annually around a particular theme to fundamentally change how people both within and outside Africa see the continent.
Female genital mutilation likely to rise in the Middle East amid COVID-19 pandemic
The pandemic disrupted FGM prevention measures in the Middle East, where the practice is widely underreported.
From counterterrorism to counter-COVID-19, governments use crises to impose continuous states of emergency in the Middle East
Fighting terrorism used to be the umbrella under which states of emergency were justified in the Middle East. Now, COVID-19 serves as a new justification for sweeping powers.
COVID-19 in the Middle East: Is this pandemic a health crisis or a war?
War-like rhetoric around COVID-19 has allowed governments in the Middle East and North Africa to execute emergency powers and impose draconian measures that would otherwise be unacceptable.
Impact of COVID-19 containment measures on human rights and civil liberties in the Middle East
COVID-19 measures in the MENA region have especially targeted some of the most vulnerable groups such as detained human rights defenders, migrant workers and independent media.
Netizen Report: Anti-corruption protests across Egypt trigger internet blockages, arrests
Censorship spikes as protests mount in Egypt, Twitter censors hundreds of pro-state accounts and a Pakistani court delivers a win for free speech online.
The scent of revolution: The story behind Sudan's legendary perfume label remix
Artist Amado Alfadni transforms Sudan's iconic Bint El Sudan perfume label into a revolutionary message.
Free by day, jailed by night: Egyptian activists speak out against conditional release
Activists, who have recently been released from prison, only enjoy freedom from 6am to 6pm.
#WelcomeHomeAlaa: Egyptian revolution activist Alaa Abd El Fattah released after five years in prison
Alaa was a leading voice among Egyptian bloggers and technology activists in Cairo approaching and during the Egyptian Revolution.
