[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
Political Rights
For the women of Egypt, today is not like yesterday Dalia Abdel Hamid reflects on the current position of the radical feminist movement in Egypt, paying particular attention to the issue of sexual violence against women in the public sphere.
A-Z of progress and setbacks for Egyptian women this year On International Women`s Day, Mada Masr offers an A-Z of the experiences and challenges Egyptian women have faced this year.
Campaign highlights struggle of wives, mothers of detained hunger-strikers in Egypt A social media campaign has sought to highlight the plight of the wives, daughters, and mothers of the hunger-striking political detainees in Egypt’s maximum-security Aqrab prison on Tuesday, which also marks International Women`s Day.
Local groups implore UN to pay attention to human rights abuses in Egypt Hours before the United Nations high commissioner for human rights was scheduled to address the thirty-first session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday, sixteen Egyptian organizations sent him a letter to voice their concerns over endemic rights abuses in the country.
MP requests parliament to debate forced disappearance issue MP Haitham al-Hariry has put in an official request for the Egyptian parliament to debate the issue of forced disappearance with a view to taking action.
Lawyer representing cases of forced disappearances reported missing Lawyer Islam Salama, who was working on a number of cases involving forced disappearances, was arrested in a security raid on his home early Tuesday.
Why did Egyptian security see Giulio Regeni as a threat? Jean Lachapelle reflects on what people are to make of this tragedy, why it occurred, and whether other researchers are at risk.
Egypt`s parliament speaker to meet Journalists Syndicate delegation Monday The secretary-general of Egypt`s House of Representatives Ahmed Saadeddin told reporters on Sunday that the parliament`s speaker Ali Abdel-Al will hold a meeting with the board of the Journalists Syndicate on Monday.
New legislative amendments stiffen penalties on Egypt’s police for rights violations Egypt`s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Magdi al-Agati told reporters that the government submitted new amendments to the Police Law to parliament on Sunday aimed at imposing harsher penalties for rights violations.
Why did Egypt`s PM ask the justice minister to resign? Local media reported Sunday night that Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zend tendered his resignation at the request of Prime Minister Sherif Ismail. Zend was "exempted from office," reportedly over remarks he made about the prophet.
Justice minister: Reconciliation deal with fugitive tycoon Hussein Salem Fugitive businessman and Mubarak ally Hussein Salem has reached a reconciliation agreement with the Egyptian government, Egypt’s Justice Minister said Saturday.
Son of controversial film producer sentenced to 3 years in prison for `insulting Egyptian women` A misdemeanor court sentenced Taymour al-Sobky, son of controversial film producer Mohamed al-Sobky, to three years in prison and a 200 LE fine for insulting Egyptian women.
State TV anchor suspended for anti-Sisi comments, again Controversial state television anchor Azza al-Hennawy was suspended on Thursday for criticizing President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi during an episode of her show on Al-Qahera Channel, which aired on Sunday.
Attempts to disperse large protest by taxi drivers against Uber & Careem unsuccessful Police fired warning shots in the air on Tuesday in an attempt to disperse dozens of disgruntled taxi drivers in Giza, where they were protesting against international companies Uber and Careem.
PM forms Cabinet committee to resolve taxi-Uber conflict Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a decree Wednesday to establish a ministerial committee to resolve the ongoing conflicts between Egyptian taxi drivers and app-based cab-hailing companies like Uber and Careem.
554 cases of banned entry, travel bans in Egypt since 2011 There have been 554 cases of politically motivated banned entry and travel bans imposed by Egyptian authorities in airports since 11 February 2011, according to the independent information platform Daftar Ahwal.
Interior Ministry: Prosecutor general assassination executed in coordination with Hamas Prosecutor General Hesham Barakat was killed by Muslim Brotherhood members in coordination with the Palestinian Hamas, Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar said in a press conference Sunday.
Students call for general assembly on fate of dissolved Egyptian Student Union Student union leaders from sixteen universities across the country are planning a general assembly meeting to discuss the fate of the Egyptian Student Union, whose elections were voided in December by the Higher Education Ministry due to procedural errors.
Egyptian court acquits 49 Muslim Brotherhood members of illegal protesting An Egyptian court acquitted Thursday forty-nine Muslim Brotherhood members of illegal protesting and attempting to overthrow the ruling regime.
Economy
New wave of public sector labor strikes from Alexandria to Aswan A new wave of labor strikes is sweeping Egypt, from Alexandria to Aswan, primarily in public sector companies.
Egyptian women make up less than quarter of workforce: Authority Egypt`s official census authority says that although Egyptian women make up around fifty percent of the country`s population of ninety million, they constitute less than a quarter of the country`s labor force.
Annual inflation hits 6-month low in February Annual headline consumer price inflation slowed to 9.13 percent in February, the lowest rate in six months.
Central Bank lifts caps on dollar withdrawals and deposits Importers of “necessary commodities” will no longer face limits on deposits or withdrawals of hard currency, Egypt’s Central Bank announced Wednesday.
Egyptian tourism declines 46 percent in January as Russians stay away Egypt’s tourism sector continued to falter in January, as the number of tourists visiting Egypt dropped by 46.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
Despite big promises, Egypt`s deficit is growing Egypt’s deficit looks set to widen this fiscal year, countering projections the government has made in high-profile policy documents.
Official responsible for anti-ergot crusade removed from post An official at the center of a wheat-import controversy has been removed from his post by the agriculture minister.
The EEDC one year later: Some progress, but most promises unmet A year ago today, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi launched the Egypt Economic Development Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh. A year later, the results look somewhat underwhelming.
Dollar shortages are hitting Egyptians from all walks of life This major concern for local businesses is now impacting ordinary people.
Egypt to cut price of gas to steel and iron factories Egypt will reduce the price it offers natural gas to steel and iron factories to 4.5 USD per one million thermal units from seven USD, Minister of Industry Tarek Kabil told a news conference on Wednesday.
Foreign Relations
Egypt responds to criticism for quibbling over UN resolution on sexual assault Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson lashed out at the US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, amid criticism of Egypt’s abstention on a vote to combat sexual assault by UN peacekeepers.
Italy`s top prosecutor to arrive in Cairo Monday Italy`s top prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone is set to arrive in Cairo Monday to follow up on investigations related to slain Italian student Guilio Regeni, said Egypt`s ambassador to Italy.
Update: EU Parliament passes resolution to suspend military cooperation with Egypt following Regeni`s murder The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution on Thursday recommending the suspension of military aid and assistance to Egypt in light of the “abduction, savage torture and killing” of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni in Cairo.
UPDATE: Egypt rejects `unfair` EU resolution linking student`s death to human rights Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a response to the European Parliament’s resolution recommending the suspension of military aid and assistance to Egypt, referring to it as “unfair” and stating that it does not accurately reflect the situation in Egypt.
Egypt nominates Mubarak-era foreign minister for Arab League post As early media reports suggested, Egypt has officially nominated former Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit to succeed Nabil al-Araby as secretary-general of the Arab League.
Egypt`s Sisi and Saudi Arabia`s Salman discuss strategic interests Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi held talks earlier Thursday with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in Hefr al-Batin, North Saudi Arabia during the finale of Saudi-led "Thunder of the North" military exercise, the Egyptian Presidency announced.
French FM to arrive in Cairo for ME peace process revival French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault arrived in Cairo on Wednesday for a two-day visit to participate in a meeting at the Arab League to discuss the revival of the peace process in the Middle East.
Cairo hosts Hamas to break the ice with the Islamist movement Palestinian Islamist group Hamas began an official visit to Cairo Saturday with a meeting with Egyptian Intelligence Service officials upon arrival to a hotel in the capital.
Egypt FM discusses Syria, Libya crises with Kerry Egypt`s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his US counterpart John Kerry discussed on Friday recent developments in the region, namely the crisis in war-torn Syria, a ministry spokesman said.
Egypt`s Sisi discusses bilateral relations with Russia`s Putin by phone Egypt`s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday where they discussed bilateral relations, the presidency said in a statement.
Domestic Security
Bomb in Greater Cairo injures three Egypt`s interior ministry said three civilians were injured late on Wednesday night in a bombing in the Greater Cairo neighborhood of Faisal. The device detonated while a police convoy was passing through a local street, the ministry said in a statement released late on Wednesday.
Two policemen killed in North Sinai in IED explosion Two low-ranking policemen were killed while a police officer and four conscripts were injured after the explosion of an improvised explosive device west of Al-Arish city in North Sinai early on Monday.
From Jadaliyya Egypt
Giulio Regeni: Scattered Facts Ahmed Ragab investigates the circumstances surrounding Giulio Regeni’s life and untimely death in Egypt.
Persian Translation of Nicola Pratt`s `How the West Undermined Women’s Rights in the Arab World` Nicola Pratt problematizes the notion that the West is an agent of progress and women’s rights in the Arab world, expanding the concept of women’s agency beyond resistance to patriarchy and demonstrating the ways in which the subversion and resignification of gender norms were also part of a counter-hegemonic movement against the geopolitical order.