Egypt's 'unfinished revolution,' reported from the ground in Cairo.

Charles M. SennottDecember 20, 2011 11:51

In Egypt, democratic advances belied by military violence

A woman beaten and stripped in the street becomes a symbol of "unfinished revolution."

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Egyptian soldiers beat a protester during clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square on December 16, 2011 after demonstrators threw petrol bombs and set fire to furniture in front of the nearby parliament. (Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images)

CAIRO – The photo of a young woman dragged through the streets by soldiers and then beaten, stripped to her bra and kicked in the chest has become a searing indictment of the Egyptian military.

Deena AdelDecember 1, 2011 13:02

Egypt: 'Virginity test' case postponed, victim applauded as hero

Worrying herself thin as court drags out the proceedings, Samira Ibrahim gets wave of support in Cairo.

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Samira Ibrahim, a 25-year-old Egyptian suing the military for allegedly subjecting her to an invasive "virginity test" stands in front of graffiti celebrating her efforts in Cairo, November 2011. (Amina Ismail/GlobalPost)

CAIRO — The ruling on Samira Ibrahim’s case against the military for forcing her to undergo a “virginity test” while in military detention in March, has been postponed to December 27.

In an effort to officially ban the practice of coerced virginity checks, Ibrahim and her lawyers had taken the case to the State Council’s administrative court.
Ibrahim says she was expecting the postponement. “The state will keep dragging this out,” she said. “They want me to give up and drop the case.”

Sara ElkamelNovember 29, 2011 13:38

Egypt's election fever

The colorful, conversational scenes of budding democracy.

Women bring their stools in anticipation of long queues at polling stations

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Women wait to vote in the Zemalek neighborhood of Cairo on November 28, 2011. (Sara Elkamel/GlobalPost)

CAIRO — Despite last week’s violence between Central Security Forces and protesters condemning the ruling military in the capital’s iconic Tahrir Square, people hurried to polling stations Monday to cast their vote and do their part in the country’s belated transition to democracy.

Charles M. SennottNovember 29, 2011 12:20

The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood

Enjoying success in a relatively friction-free election, the MB's leadership in Egypt will present a challenge to the U.S.

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President of the Muslim Brotherhood-supported Freedom and Justice Party, Mohammed Morsi (R,) receives a piece of paper from an aide at the party headquarters in Cairo on November 28, 2011, as Egyptians cast their ballots in the first round of parliamentary elections. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

What’s the biggest surprise in Egypt’s historic, first parliamentary elections since the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak?

That the voting has gone so well. There are few reports so far of corruption or vote rigging, which was standard practice under the 30-year autocratic rule of Mubarak.

Charles M. SennottNovember 28, 2011 00:07

Sexual violence emerges as 'fourth enemy' in Tahrir

Assaults on women reflect a darkness in Egyptian society.

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An Egyptian protester wearing an armband with the colors of her national flag raises her hand during a demonstration calling for the interim military rulers to step down in Tahrir Square in Cairo on November 27, 2011. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

Violence in the air in Tahrir Square in the days leading up the election seems to be uniquely menacing for female journalists.

Two prominent female journalists — one French and one Egyptian — were attacked last week, sending a chill through the reporting ranks and prompting many news organizations and media advocacy groups to reevaluate whether it is safe to send women into Tahrir Square to cover the story.

Sara ElkamelNovember 22, 2011 16:31

Tahrir swells up

Field Marshal Tantawi speaks, but Tahrir crowd demands more.

Violence continues to play out in Cairo’s Tahrir Square for a fourth day of clashes with security forces. Tuesday’s call for a mass demonstration brought people back to the square, chanting in unison of the downfall of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. And the uproar was reminiscent of this January.

Sara ElkamelNovember 22, 2011 12:14

Back to Tahrir Square

Revolutionaries demand the military relinquish power, liken Field Marshal Tantawi to Mubarak.

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An Egyptian man holds up a banners that reads in Arabic, "The revolution is still running" during clashes on the third day with security forces at Tahrir Square in Cairo on November 21, 2011. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)

CAIRO — Nine months after millions of Egyptians chanted for freedom and toppled a regime that had long overstayed its welcome, thousands return to Tahrir Square, where it all started, calling for the downfall of Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and his military rule.

In power since Mubarak’s ouster in February, the military is now being told that it too has overstayed its welcome.

Jon JensenNovember 21, 2011 07:07

Protests rock Egypt’s capital for third day

Police and military appeared unable Monday to quell growing anger.

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An Egyptian protester wounded in the eye is treated at a field hospital in central Cairo following deadly clashes with security forces on November 20, 2011. (Mahmud Khaled/AFP/Getty Images)

Egyptian security forces clashed with swelling crowds of anti-government demonstrators in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Monday, for the third straight day, following a bloody weekend of street battles in the capital that left at least 20 dead and hundreds injured.

Jon JensenNovember 19, 2011 13:29

Egyptian security clash with protesters in Tahrir Square

Police forces tear gas demonstrators from Cairo's city center.

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Egyptian protesters throw stones during clashes with riot police at Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square on November 19, 2011, as Egyptian police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up a sit-in among whose organisers were people injured during the Arab Spring which overthrew veteran president Hosni Mubarak. (Khaled Desouki /AFP/Getty Images)

CAIRO— Hundreds of Egyptian riot police fire teargas to forcibly disperse a crowd of protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Saturday.

Jason OverdorfNovember 7, 2011 23:54

UN's third front won't change stance on Arab Spring interventions

Guests on the Security Council, India, Brazil and South Africa oppose UN interventions despite human rights stance

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(AFP/Getty Images)

If you thought India, Brazil and South Africa were going to emerge as strong backers of the pro-democracy rebels of Arab Spring, think again.

According to the BBC, the so-called IBSA group has just as much anxiety about sending in troops or calling down air strikes to destabilize dictators as China and Russia do -- though for different reasons.

As vibrant democracies with a declared commitment to championing human rights, they could have been expected to back the West's support for selective intervention.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

Seventeen top young Egyptian and American journalists have convened in Cairo from October 12-23, 2011 as part of the GlobalPost / Open Hands Initiative "Covering a Revolution" Fellowship. This team of reporters seeks to tell the story of Egypt's 'unfinished revolution,' searching for stories that will enlighten and inform GlobalPost's audience on the historic events still unfolding in Cairo. Embracing the mission of Open Hands Initiative "to support people-to-people understanding around the world," this fellowship brings together Egyptian and American reporters through a belief that working together they can produce stronger news coverage. Their work in the field will be chronicled in this blog and will culminate with a GlobalPost "Special Report" in the lead up to the parliamentary elections scheduled for November.

Funding for this project is provided by The Open Hands Initiative.

GlobalPost is proud to publish this work in partnership with Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Equipment was generously provided by Canon.