News for Egypt:
So much information seeps into our news regarding various places in the Middle East, and for the past few weeks, Egypt again fronts the headlines. Mohammed Morsi is facing trial in Egypt's high court amid fears this will create further outbreaks of violence in Cairo and other parts of the country.
Fear this might happen led to the closing of the American University in Cairo closed last Monday. Then with Tuesday the Islamic New Year, students, faculty, and staff enjoyed a short two-day holiday. As it happens, Cairo was not the scene of violence during the opening days of Mr Morsi's trial, contrary to some of the news coverage we receive here in the USA.
Our news media tells us that it's the military in control in Egypt, but is this actually the way it is? According to friends and colleagues living in Egypt, the military is the tool used by the interim government to uphold the peace. There is a curfew in Cairo, Sunday - Thursday from 11 PM to 5 AM. On Friday, the day typically used for demonstrations, the government feels it necessary to enforce a curfew from 7 PM to 5 AM. If you've ever lived in or visited Cairo, this might not be such a bad thing...it's a city that virtually never shuts down. Traffic is always impossible, crowds gather everywhere, the city never sleeps. Friends tell me they feel safer now than they did under the regime headed by Morsi.
While Mr Morsi is on trial, the interim government is working to rewrite the Constitution, an instrument which Morsi arbitrarily changed, in particular regarding the rights of women. Last November he deemed it his right to re-legalize FGM, he also made it illegal for women to initiate divorce, and the last insult to women was to take away their freedom to travel without the permission of their male guardian, husband, father, brother, or whoever had say over a woman's rights. There was no democratic referendum on these constitutional changes, why does our news media refrain from bringing these facts to light. The interim government immediately cancelled these restrictions on women, even as they work to create a new constitution leading to new elections.
We look to the future as Egypt's new government works to create an environment of safety for its citizens and for all who would love to visit one of the world's guardians of beautiful monuments, temples, and tombs from this ancient civilization.
So much information seeps into our news regarding various places in the Middle East, and for the past few weeks, Egypt again fronts the headlines. Mohammed Morsi is facing trial in Egypt's high court amid fears this will create further outbreaks of violence in Cairo and other parts of the country.
Fear this might happen led to the closing of the American University in Cairo closed last Monday. Then with Tuesday the Islamic New Year, students, faculty, and staff enjoyed a short two-day holiday. As it happens, Cairo was not the scene of violence during the opening days of Mr Morsi's trial, contrary to some of the news coverage we receive here in the USA.
Our news media tells us that it's the military in control in Egypt, but is this actually the way it is? According to friends and colleagues living in Egypt, the military is the tool used by the interim government to uphold the peace. There is a curfew in Cairo, Sunday - Thursday from 11 PM to 5 AM. On Friday, the day typically used for demonstrations, the government feels it necessary to enforce a curfew from 7 PM to 5 AM. If you've ever lived in or visited Cairo, this might not be such a bad thing...it's a city that virtually never shuts down. Traffic is always impossible, crowds gather everywhere, the city never sleeps. Friends tell me they feel safer now than they did under the regime headed by Morsi.
While Mr Morsi is on trial, the interim government is working to rewrite the Constitution, an instrument which Morsi arbitrarily changed, in particular regarding the rights of women. Last November he deemed it his right to re-legalize FGM, he also made it illegal for women to initiate divorce, and the last insult to women was to take away their freedom to travel without the permission of their male guardian, husband, father, brother, or whoever had say over a woman's rights. There was no democratic referendum on these constitutional changes, why does our news media refrain from bringing these facts to light. The interim government immediately cancelled these restrictions on women, even as they work to create a new constitution leading to new elections.
We look to the future as Egypt's new government works to create an environment of safety for its citizens and for all who would love to visit one of the world's guardians of beautiful monuments, temples, and tombs from this ancient civilization.
