MENASource

A Law Safeguarding Women Against Violence: The First Step

By Sarah El-Rashidi

While women in Egypt are habitual victims of sexual harassment in its various forms, the law does little to protect them or guarantee their rights. A survey conducted by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECR) in 2008 indicates that 83% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women have been subjected to harassment. “The […]

Top News: Six Ministers to Change in Egypt Cabinet Reshuffle

By Egypt Source

Egypt’s cabinet reshuffle will see six ministers replaced, al-Ahram Arabic news website has reported, citing a government source. President Morsi had intended to replace ten ministers, the source added, but the number was trimmed to six because he could not persuade enough replacements to join his cabinet.    GOVERNMENT & OPPOSITION Six ministers to change […]

Iraq’s Dangerous Relapse Needs US Attention

By Ramzy Mardini

The month of April marked the tenth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, the third provincial election of the post-Saddam era—the country’s first without the presence of US troops—and seven years since a relatively unknown Nouri al-Maliki emerged as the prime minister of Iraq. Nevertheless, after a period of relatively low violence and another election […]

The View from Washington on Egypt’s CBC [Video]

Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East Director Michele Dunne appeared on Egyptian channel CBC to discuss the current situation in Egypt. Topics of particular focus including US policy towards Egypt, the Egyptian opposition, and ongoing negotiations between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.8 billion loan.

Top News: Egyptian Workers to Press for Revolution’s Demands on Labor Day

By Egypt Source

On Wednesday, Egyptian workers will celebrate the first Labor Day since the election of President Mohamed Morsi, by voicing longstanding demands and unfulfilled promises. A march organized by dozens of political parties, movements and labor organizations saw thousands of workers march from Sayyeda Zeinab near downtown Cairo to the Shura Council.

Libya, Egypt and the Corruption of New Democracies

By Karim Mezran and Tarek Radwan

The rhetoric of the Arab spring and the democratization process, perhaps best paraphrased as “new government, new policies, new dynamics,” emphasizes respect for the rule of law and the maintenance of higher moral standards than those of the corrupt prior regimes. There are, nevertheless, many incidents that demonstrate that this rhetoric is not real, and […]

Syria: The Chemical Weapons Red Line

By Frederic C. Hof

The real significance of Syria’s likely crossing of US President Barack Obama’s chemical weapons red line may be that it will focus the administration’s attention on here-and-now Syria policy options as it has not been focused heretofore. As the president said in his April 30 press conference, regime culpability in using chemical weapons would force […]

Space for Culture, Time for Art

By Elisabeth Jaquette

Despite a backdrop of sporadic clashes, presidential power grabs, and crackdowns on freedom of expression, Egypt’s arts and culture sector has flourished since January 2011. While many artists feel unable to respond effectively to political events in their personal work, and traditional institutions have been faced with varying challenges, the past two years have given […]

Top News: Egypt Pulls Out of Talks to Protest Middle East Nuclear Arms

By Egypt Source

Egypt said on Monday it was withdrawing from a second week of Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) talks in Geneva in protest at what it called the failure to implement a 1995 resolution for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons. That was an implicit reference to Israel which neither confirms nor denies having nuclear arms and […]