The year 2010 has seen Egypt celebrate three strongholds of progress and development in its modern history. It has been 50 years since the first spark which marked the beginning of the construction of the Aswan High Dam; 50 years on the establishment of the first Egyptian national TV channel; and 50 years since the erection of the Cairo stadium. All three national projects have positively affected the life of Egyptians in an irrevocable manner. Precisely for this reason, it is time to assess what each has achieved in terms of ameliorating the life of Egyptians. While the first two projects have had their fair share of appraisal by the media, I intend to focus on the third project.

I harbour no sympathy for the calls to reopen the file of constitutional amendments. It would disrespect the Constitution, which was amended as late as 2007, to reconsider it every now and then for no urgent reason. If some politicians and pundits have aspirations to introduce fundamental changes to the

Wit November only a few weeks away, competition among candidates who will then be running for the People’s Assembly (PA)—the lower house of Egypt’s parliament—is rapidly heating up. Once the running candidates are officially approved, they will be scrambling to familiarise voters in their constituencies with their respective electoral platforms, in a bid to win. The contest is expected to be a fierce one, and not without its hazards.

Dr Ahmed Fathy Sorour has been Speaker of the People’s Assembly (PA)—the lower house of Egypt’s parliament—for some two decades today. Throughout this extended period he has succeeded in winning the general respect of Egyptians for what was seen as his objectivity and impartiality, as well as his utmost decency in tongue and pen. He took care never to take sides with the government or the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP); his only loyalty appeared to be for the Constitution, law and regulations.

A major problem in Egypt is that the average Egyptian has an unfailing sense that official authorities have no better business but to lie in wait for any successful project or effort that the average Egyptian has achieved, ready to pounce and stamp it out at the first viable opportunity. And it takes no genius to guess

This is the sixth year in a row that I write, following the conclusion of the annual parliamentary round, to comment on the failure of the Parliament to pass the unified law for places of worship. The lack of such a law, as any casual observer can tell, has been behind countless incidents of violence against Copts—incidents we could very well have escaped and for which our government should be held accountable

Over a series of four editorials printed last October, I tackled the practices exercised by Minya local authorities against the Copts in the governorate. A file I had received from the bishopric of Maghagha and Adawa in Minya was packed full of details that could be described as collective punishment of the

Two weeks ago I wrote about the injustice commonly inflicted upon Egyptian women where inheritance is concerned. Even though the law allots a woman half the share her brother inherits, she more often than not ends up getting nothing at all of her due inheritance, especially when it involves land. The

It is now almost a year since Cairenes have found at their service taxis that are modern, clean, and outfitted with metres that determine a fair fare for any given trip. They replaced—or are in the process of phasing out—the old squeaking, dilapidated, life threatening, infamous black-and-white taxis. It was at one point circulated that these black-and-white taxis were, four years ago, among the major factors which contributed to Egypt losing to South Africa the opportunity to host the 2010 Mondiale.

Among the ugliest problems faced by Egyptian women and long placed on the hold is that of inheritance. No matter how modernised or aware our community has become, it still maintains archaic notions which allot females a trifle of the inheritance allotted to males—or none at all. Worse, the topic is

An official complaint presented to the Minister of Higher Education on 25 May 2010 accused Assiut University’s Philosophy Department of being a stronghold of fundamentalist, extremist thought, and of

Assiut University is among the oldest in Egypt. In a move to align itself with progressive concepts, the university has established a centre for research and studies on human rights. The centre, which is directly under the charge of the university president, aims at promoting academic research in the field of

The year 2006 saw the launching of the website of Assiut University. It was a welcome addition to the cyberworld by one of Egypt’s top tier universities, especially since the site provided considerable information. Included were statistics about the number of students enrolled but—amazingly—they were

In the wake of the recent court ruling obliging the Coptic Church to issue remarriage permits for divorced couples—the Church currently issues such permits to the wronged party alone; the other party is given a permit only conditionally—and the church’s refusal to abide by the ruling, it was open season on the

We are approaching the Thanawiya Amma examinations, the final examinations for the secondary school stage, which qualify students for enrolment in universities. The event calls for huge administrative preparations nationwide. Adequate staff must be found to invigilate and supervise the exams, and to mark

Whenever an opportunity comes up to shed light on a positive incident, I hasten to seize it to inform the reader. Since our daily lives are more often than not dominated by negative incidents, I fear that I often end up conveying a bleak, despairing picture of matters on the ground. This, I fear, might dissuade us from working to find solutions to our problems, a stance which goes absolutely against my belief of the essentiality of striving to understand and overcome the difficulties and injustices we encounter.

Some two months ago, MP Mustafa al-Fiqi made a declaration to the effect that the era of President Mubarak had seen no discrimination against Copts, with many of them reaching senior positions in various fields. Dr Fiqi categorically denied that Copts were deprived of holding specific positions. I

Talks about the upcoming elections dominate the major part of local news. As in sports, a ‘warming up’ process is in session, in anticipation of the real game. Next month should see the mid-term elections of the Shura (Consultative) Council, the upper house of Egypt’s Parliament; next October the elections for

I am not about to tackle court rulings or to criticise them. The judicial authority warrants all due respect and reverence; and there are legal, well established routes to follow if one is to question or contest a ruling. I am just about to comment on a few rulings which appear revolutionary in concept but, even

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights’ recently-issued study on “Sectarian violence throughout two years” has been the subject of a thorough review which I presented to Watani readers in the last two editorials. I reviewed the various patterns of sectarian violence cited in the study, as well as the typical

“Sectarian violence throughout two years” is the title of an eminently significant and serious study published this month by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). The EIPR is an Egyptian NGO that monitors the situation of freedoms—especially religious freedoms—in Egypt, and issues quarterly