The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A recent study revealed that 85% of Egyptian women and 98% of foreign women experience sexual harassment in Egypt.
Sexual harassment is also being used as a deterrent to prevent female activists from joining street protests and sit-ins. Women are frequently targeted by the military and police during raids at sit-ins. Soldiers and police officers have been caught on tape beating, stripping and harassing women protestors.
After several violent attacks against women in the heart of...
Sharif Abdel Kouddous reports from Egypt, where protests erupted after final results were announced in the country’s first-ever competitive presidential election.
The top two candidates in the first round of the race are Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood and Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister under Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in a popular uprising 15 months ago.
"[Shafik] speaks the language of Mubarak’s regime. And what that means is the retention of broad...
Jenny O'Connor -
In December Egyptian prosecutors and police raided 17 offices of 10 groups identifying themselves as “pro-democracy” NGOs, including 4 US based agencies. Fourty three people, including 16 US citizens, were accused of failing to register with the government and financing the April 6th protest movement with illicit funds in a manner that detracted from the sovereignty of the Egyptian state.
The US applied massive pressure on Egypt to drop the case, sending high-level officials to...
Alex Kane -
Vijay Prashad talks neoliberal economics, the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia and why NATO's intervention in Libya marked a new chapter in the story of the Arab revolts.
At first glance, the revolt in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi seemed to be a continuation of the Arab uprisings that began in Tunisia in late 2010. But when NATO forces began to fly sorties over Libya, bombing Gaddafi’s fighters, it became absolutely clear this was no Egypt or Tunisia.
Instead, argues Vijay Prashad...
Nicholas Pell -
What a difference a year makes. It's hard to believe that this time in 2011, the world was abuzz over the Arab Spring. Flying in the face of the "death of history" narrative, the Arab Spring shocked the world by overturning some of its most entrenched authoritarian governments. Soon after, Occupy Wall Street became the American protest movement, both inspired by actions in the Arab world, as well as urging young Arabs on to further action. It seems pretty safe to say that the 21st...
Replacing a dictatorship with democracy has proven to be a complicated task for Egyptians, says Al Jazeera's Marwan Bishara. More than a year after Egypt's watershed revolution that brought down dictator Hosni Mubarak, the military is still in power, an interim election handed a two-thirds majority to conservative Islamist political parties in the national assembly, the economy is on the brink of collapse, and the country's internal political debate centers on the adoption of sharia law as a...
