Human Rights in Egypt

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to my first in-depth look at human rights in countries in the Middle East/North Africa.

 For the first country, I will review the human rights of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

    Since the end of World War II, Egypt has undergone rapid transformation from a territory under the control of England to becoming an influential country in middle east and North African politics. To understand the current situation in Egypt, we have to start with Gamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser took power through a military coup in 1952 and became the de facto leader of the Arab politics in the region and the main bulwark against Israel. In 1956, he nationalized the Suez Canal and oversaw the withdraw of British, French and Israeli forces from the canal (World War II). In 1958 he formed the United Arab Republic with Syria and oversaw massive economic growth and land reform. These are examples which made Nasser one of the most popular Arab leaders of the 20th century. However in 1967, in the Six Day War, Egypt lost control control of Saini, and the Gaza strip to Israel. This loss contributed to his decline in both influence in power. Under Nasser, human rights were poor. This included jailing and murder of political opponents such as the Muslim Brotherhood, poor political rights such as uncontested elections, and lack of freedom of expression and assembly (World War II). The human rights record of Egypt improved slightly under Nasser's successor, Anwar Sadat. Sadat oversaw the Camp David Accords which normalized relations with Israel and Egypt regained control of the Saini Peninsula. Sadat also oversaw the creation of new political parties and more participation of Egyptians in the political process. However these gains were short lived and Sadat eventually consolidated power repressed his political opponents. After Sadat was assassinated by Khalid al-Islambouli, an Egyptian Army Officer whop was part of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad group, his Vice President Hosni Mubarak took power. Human rights under Mubarak were undermined by suppressing any potential threat to the Egyptian government. These policies were seen as necessary after Sadat's assassination and a rise in terror attacks by groups such as the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (World War II). Mubarak ran unelected and rigged elections in his favor and ran Egypt as an authoritarian police state. In 2011 the Arab Spring protests in Egypt brought an end to Mubarak's rule after massive protests and strikes call for him to step down. After elections were held, Mohammed Morsi, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, became president. However there would be protests against Morsi due to authoritarianism, corruption, and religious fundamentalism associated with his administration. These protests resulted in Morsi's Defense Minister, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to stage a military coup and overthrow Morsi's government (Egypt Archives). In response top ongoing protests, Sisi's orders to disperse the protests resulted in the deaths of hundreds of protesters known as the Rabaa Massacre in 2013 (World War II). The Rabaa massacre represented the consolidation of military power by EL Sisi and the beginning of the end of the Egyptian Revolution as part of the broader Arab Spring Movement. Since the military coup, Sisi's government has been marked by authoritarian tendencies, complete destruction of political opponents, and emboldening of security services. Today Human rights in Egypt are marked by unfair trials, religious, gender, sexual, economic discrimination (either by the government or inaction by the government to protect), disappearances by security forces, and arbitrary detentions (Egypt Archives). The strive for human rights was illustrated by the Egyptian revolution of 2011 which saw millions of people demonstrating for a more equal, free, and democratic country. This movement was taken advantage of by Sisi who used the legitimate grievances against Morsi to consolidate power for himself and take Egypt back to where it was before the Arab Spring. 

Citations:

“World War II and Its Aftermath.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/place/Egypt/World-War-II-and-its-aftermath.

“Egypt Archives.” Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/egypt/report-egypt/.