Egypt

What does a police raid on a bathhouse in Cairo have in common with a police raid on a queer rave in Berlin? Through an examination of two case studies of homophobic violence in Cairo and Berlin, separated by temporal and spatial dimensions, the architecture of homophobia employed by state and media is revealed.

In the past months, Turkey has prosecuted students who have displayed rainbow flags in Istanbul, indicating a pattern of state-induced political homophobia and violence against marginalized groups, together with the motivation to delegitimize the political opposition in Turkey and elsewhere.

“Mid-October, 2019. The mood across the country was like the opening passage to a novel that promises to turn sad. But on the 17th of that month, something unexpected began, setting the course for a very different story” - Abraham Zeitoun remembers.

January 25th marks the beginning of the Egyptian revolution of 2011, which has been followed by a counter-revolution that continues to this day. More and more political and cultural actors end up in prison or flee into exile. As part of our series “Reminiscence of the future”, Alia Mossallam illuminates the inner spaces of the revolution, where fear and courage, kindness and monstrosity are inherently close to one another.

The participation of women in political events was a real battle that they paid for dearly, not only as political players but as women as well - A portrait of Mozn Hassan a feminist and human rights activist.

Amidst the Covid-19 crisis in Egypt, a recent chain of events reveals the systemic violence that the regime of President al-Sisi exerts. To address those developments, what’s behind them and how international actors might respond to them, we are speaking with Amr Magdi, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch.