Hope for Egypt?

Despite the widespread civilian violence and deeply divided society, there remains hope that the country can fulfill the promise of democracy it reached for in early 2011. Hope comes from the continued activism of the Egyptian people, exemplified by the student movements. Paying serious attention to their goals and organization offers a telling glimpse into the future of Egyptian mass politics. The key indicators of Egypt’s future lie in its economic development, which must be focused on job creation and financial sovereignty, and the role of the ‘deep state’, which must be challenged to make way for genuine democracy.

Students have been the catalysts for all of the revolutionary movements, either united around the fall of Mubarak during the January 25^th revolution, or divided between leftists and Islamists following June 30^th. In the wake of the recent laws forbidding mass protest, Egyptian students united once again. Following the raids of universities the death of a medical student at Al-Azhar University, students have begun to band together to protest a law that seeks to criminalize even peaceful protest. They retook Tahrir square, protesting what those they say have betrayed the Egyptian people, Mubarak, Morsi, and the Military. Their commitment of the political participation and justice show offer encouragement that Egypt’s future leaders have taken these values to heart and will continue to mobilize Egypt towards a more inclusive future. No doubt, more organization, and agreement among the divergent groups is needed before real progress can be achieved. Yet, as long as students refuse to settle for autocratic rule, Egypt will continue to move forward. Those hoping to shape the future of Egypt should take these groups seriously, and consider working with them rather than traditional political elites.

Egypt’s poor economic performance led many to the streets on January 25. Egypt suffers from a trade deficit problem, meaning that its exports cannot earn enough to cover its imports and its foreign debt commitments. This external debt stems largely from by Egypt’s dependence of foreign grain and fuel, as well foreign aide. The IMF, World Bank, and other Western, neoliberal economic institutions have taken this as an opportunity to push through neoliberal reforms in the form of an austerity program of cutting back subsidies, privatizing government owned companies, and promoting foreign direct invest and tourism. However, contrary to the orthodox economic policies of these institutions, these reforms have worsened economic development by increasing unemployment and economic stratification. If these plans continue, Egypt will likely see increased external debt, dependence of foreign aide, and poverty. In turn increaseing social and political turmoil. If Egypt is able to focus on job creation, lessen its foreign debt and thereby gain financial sovereignty, as well as seriously reform its food and fuel sectors, the positive economic effects will no doubt transfer over to political stability as well. The Egyptian government has recently met with delegations from both Saudi Arabia and the World Bank in order to secure more loans. Both Saudi and World Bank officials recognize the need for job creation and an active government present in the economy at this time, which is a positive sign for Egyptian development as it marks a turn from the usual dogma of austerity. However, a continued dependence on foreign aide limits Egyptian financial sovereignty, which effectively determines its ability to conduct monetary and fiscal policy, and limits is capacity to run a budget deficit. Unless Egypt is able to focus on internal economic solutions and find a way to cancel its foreign debt, there is little chance for substantial economic growth.

The role of Egypt’s deep state will also be a telling signal in its movement forward. There is no doubt that the military, who largely controls the police, intelligence services, judiciary, and state media, has played a significant role in Egypt’s trajectory after January 25^th by actively working to discredit President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, and then supporting the June 30^th protests. Despite earlier promises to handover the country to civilian government, General Sisi’s recent comments on a potential presidential bid have made it clear that the military has no plans to relinquish control. Backed by the over billion dollars the Egyptian military receives annually from the US, and his close relationships with Washington, Moscow, and Riyadh, the military is daunting to challenge. Egypt needs serious structural change. However, as many in Egypt begin to reject the pervasive military power in all aspects of Egyptian life, their days of unchallenged hegemony may be numbered. The role of military in government offices and key institutions offers a clue as to whether Egypt will form its own path or continue to be led by this shadow government.

The path of revolutions is never quick or easy, so despite recent set backs, it is too early to discount Egypt’s transition yet. Egypt’s trajectory depends on the organization of its student groups, a new economic path, and the decreased power of the military in political institutions.  It is a challenging course, but not an impossible one.

Education in Za’atari (Part 1)

The Syrian conflict has created over one million refugees since it began over two years ago. Of those refugees, over half now reside in Jordan in one of two refugee camps. Za’atari is the larger of the two, with 133,000 registered refugees, 40,000 are school-aged children. Of these 40,000 children, only 22% attend one of the three schools located in the 1.3 square miles of the camp. Za’atari is underfunded, understaffed, and overcrowded and because of this, international organizations (IOs) and the local government are struggling to provide for the basic needs of the refugees. Therefore, education has taken a backseat as shelter, food, and security needs are struggling to be met. Several issues need to be addressed to get children into schools. While first and foremost more schools need to be built, I will specifically be looking at the effectiveness of educational awareness campaigns targeting enrollment, as well as the issues of safe spaces for children to learn. I will then propose new ways in which these policies can be looked at to maximize already existing resources.

Reasons for Educational Reform:

 In April 2013, all organizations working with education (JENA) within the camp compiled a memo addressing the problems and provided recommendations for achieving higher enrollment in the schools. This data was gathered through focus groups with parents, teachers, students, and IOs and is the basis for education policies within the camp. Overwhelmingly, parents wanted their children to attend school but were too busy to seek out education opportunities within the camp. Due to lack of funding there has been little ability to follow through with these recommendations put out by JENA and therefore they need to be reexamined in order to use as little outside resources as possible. Solutions for these problems need to employ already existing camp resources, especially parents, family members, and community leaders in order to take the burden off of international organizations.

Enrollment:

Current Strategies:

• IOs have collaborated with Imams at the mosques within the camp to discuss the importance of education.
  
• They have also chosen student leaders from different areas in the camp to talk with their neighbors and friends about enrolling in school and the importance of schooling.
  
• The Syrian Education Committee (SEC) – a group of six Syrians with backgrounds in education – was established by refugees to ease tensions between Syrian and Jordanian teachers. The SEC is supposed to act as the link between the Jordanian teachers and their Syrian assistants.
• Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) are being set up in different neighborhoods by parents to have a greater say in educational issues.

Implementation Issues:

• Policies to spread awareness at the camp are fairly non-existent.
• When families arrive and are registered at the camp, they are made aware of the schools but there is no follow up to this once they leave the holding area.
• Due to the significant trauma these families have just endured, it may take them weeks to set up and get comfortable enough in the camp –leaving their children behind in the learning cycle and adjusted to life in the camp without school.
• Many children do not want to attend school because of psychological damage from the Syrian war and many parent’s first priorities are for providing for their families with food and shelter, not sending them to school.
• The SEC does not coordinate with the PTAs.
• Over 40% of students are not attending school because they are not interested in schooling and believe that they will be returning to Syria soon.

Recommendations:

Policies need to be put in place that initially may require organization but can be handed off to communities within the camp in order to minimize cost and foreign manpower from IOs.

• IOs need to register the children for school as soon as they arrive within the camp, this will require a full time position held by one of the education implementing IOs.
• IOs need to inform parents of the benefits of schooling and psychological counseling services offered through the schools (discretion is necessary in mentioning this due to the social stigma involved with admitting to trauma).
• IOs should conduct monthly hour-long follow up sessions within the different neighborhoods to inform parents of schooling options.
• Recruit more student leaders to talk to their neighbors about enrollment as well as older male relatives to accompany them in order to maximize their safety while spreading awareness. These students should specifically target areas of the camp that have lower enrollment numbers.
  
• The Syrian Education Committee is a great tool because it is Syrians informing Syrians about education as well as establishing curricula and raising concerns. By expanding this so that each neighborhood and school has an arm of the SEC, different issues can be addressed.
• Create town hall like meetings for camp members to raise their concerns to both the SEC and PTAs (Syrians collaborating with Syrians). These can be used for the SEC and PTA to inform the public of school policies, as well as report back to the Jordanian teachers the community concerns.

-Kelly Kirk

An Opportunity Waiting to be Blown

Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI) has made public his desire to increase sanctions against Iran. He argues that the sanctions have crippled Iran to the point of coming to the negotiating table, and easing off pressure now would ruin any chance of striking a meaningful deal. Rogers share Israeli concerns that Rouhani is a sheep in wolf’s clothing, and that the deal currently offered is biased towards the Iranians, giving them relief from the sanctions without asking for enough in return.

The exact details of the deal have not been made public. However, sanctions relief would last for only six months, to be renewed or even made harsher if the Iranians do not hold up their end of the bargain. Moreover, sanctions will not be lifted on the energy and banking sectors will not be lifted. Iran would be allowed to repair roughly 10,000 of their existing centrifuges but would not be allowed to build any new ones. They would also have to cap their enrichment at 20%, halt the growth of its stockpile, and convert it to benign form, as well as allow international inspectors at the heavy water reactor at Arak. The Obama administration has said that the deal will actually improve Israel’s security. Secretary of State, John Kerry explained, “It seems to me that Israel is far safer if you make certain that Iran cannot continue the program. Now every day that we don’t have it, they’re continuing it.”

Israel’s position is that all centrifuges must be removed from Iran, all enriched uranium must be removed from the country, and the reactor at Arak, which could be used to create weapons grade plutonium, must be shut down. If Iran reaches 250kg of 20% enriched uranium, Israel has promised military action.

However, a recent report by the IAEA shows that Iran is below this point at 196kg. The report showed that since Rouhani’s ascendance to the presidency, Iran has stopped expanding its nuclear program all together. They have also postponed the start up of the Arak plant and have not installed any additional advanced centrifuges.

The veritable freeze of the program and the increased transparency are positive signs that Iran wants a deal. Even Khamenei has voiced his support for the negotiations. These are the most positive signals the US has received from Iran since 1979, and if they are rebuffed there is no telling when another leader so progressive and willing to negotiate will come to the table. If the US passes another round of sanctions, it would a slap in the face of all those putting their political reputations on the line by working towards a deal. The history US-Iranian relations are littered with missed opportunities, and one can only hope that the upcoming talks do not fall into this category.

Sofia Smith

Do Muslim Women Need Saving?

“A moral crusade to rescue oppressed Muslim women from their cultures and their religion has swept the public sphere, dissolving distinctions between conservatives and liberals, sexists and feminists. The crusade has justified all manner of intervention from the legal to the military, the humanitarian to the sartorial. But it has also reduced Muslim women to a stereotyped singularity, plastering a handy cultural icon over much more complicated historical and political dynamics.”

So begins Lila Abu-Lughod’s recent article in Time, attacking the Western push for women’s liberation in the Middle East. Read it. She makes some important points about multi-culturalism, human rights as a shield for intervention, and generally a lack of nuance in the way the west view Muslim women.

There can be no doubt that most media coverage of the Middle East and Islam is essentialist, over simplified, and often time just plain incorrect. Little time is taken either by producers or consumers of this information to truly understand the complex history and multitude of political, social, and economic dynamics at play in contemporary Middle East. One must look no further than the violence and chaos in Iraq to see the real life implications of such a simplistic approach. There is always room for deeper understanding, a more complete picture, and a basic understanding that the people in the Middle East are no less real, human, and complex than those in the West.

However, the problem with Abu-Lughod’s article is that in attempting to bring this point she ignores the suffering that many Muslim women, and women of all creeds, face in the Middle East. In Yemen, women are counted as only half a witness in court, nor can they leave the house without their male guardian’s permission. In Morocco, charges are dropped against a rapist if he agrees to marry his victim. In Saudi Arabia, survivors of rape can legally be punished, sometimes more severely than their rapist. Women cannot yet vote. Women cannot drive. In Jordan, there are on average 20 honor killings per year.

Regardless of the formal legal status, female genital mutilation is widely practice. An estimated 91% of Egyptian women, 38% of Yemeni women, 8% of Iraqi women (although that number increases to up to nearly 60% in Kurdish regions),  and it is reported in Oman, UAE, Palestine, Syria, Iran, and Turkey.

Abu-Lughod mentions education, stating that education rates in Pakistan, Egypt, and Iran are relatively equal, with women even ahead in some places. Why then do women make up only a fraction of the work force and governing bodies?

There is social, economic, and political inequality in nearly all Middle Eastern countries (widening the lens to all Muslim countries continues this trend), some of it institutionalized and some cultural. And call it cultural imperialism if you will, but I see a problem with that. When women are not free to participate in the political, and economic systems, when they cannot even move freely about their neighborhoods, when they are subject to violence, mutilation, and fear, I see that as a problem.  To deny this is to say that women do not have the same value as men, or that these practices are morally acceptable, it is to descend into moral relativism and deny any sense of shared humanity.

Abu-Lughod is right to remind people not to judge too quickly, not to make assumptions based on religion and culture, nor to stop understanding their own choices as products of their own cultures. Wearing a hijab doesn’t make a woman oppressed, nor does being Muslim make a man an uneducated misogynist. Stripping a woman of any form of agency and enforcing a dress code does not bring true change. It is not the place of the west to ‘fix’ the rest of the world, or to use a language of rights for military intervention. But let’s not allow a quest for cultural acceptance to be blind to injustice. Do Muslim women need saving? Look at those numbers again and ask yourself.

Sofia Smith

Barriers to Peace

In a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented that he was “concerned” about the progress of talks and remarked, “I see the Palestinians continuing with incitement, continuing to create artificial crises, continuing to avoid, run away from the historic decisions that are needed to make a genuine peace.” However, this statement ignores the provocative actions Israelis have taken in recent days that threaten to undermine the process.

Just two days ago, Israel issued almost 2,000 home tenders for new settlements in the West Bank.  They claim that this is part of the deal struck with Palestinians in exchange for the release of the release of 104 prisoners currently jailed. So far they have released about half. This issue of settlements is nothing new but the timing of these settlements seemed to be a policy of appeasement by Netanyahu’s government to assure his country that he has not ‘gone soft’ on the Palestinian issue by engaging in talks.

More troubling still is the news of a wall to be built through the Jordan Valley, one of the fertile areas in the region. It would annex an area roughly the size of Chicago, full of most of the water resources Palestinians now access. This is consistent with their statements that borders must be built in accordance with the already existent separation barrier or apartheid wall. This means that the future Israeli state would include lands captured after 1967 in violation of UN resolutions and international law.  It also directly counters the US plan, which is based on 1967 borders and land swaps.

If the peace talks are to succeed a new formula of Israeli leadership is needed. One can only hope that Netanyahu realizes the incredible opportunity these talks offer before it is too late.

Sofia Smith

First Sect-less Baby Born in Lebanon

Kholoud Sukkarieh and Nidal Darwish of Lebanon have been blazing quite a trail towards equality for the Lebanese. Not only were they the first couple to ever obtain a civil marriage license back in January 2013 but now they have just given birth to the first child in modern Lebanese history to not have a sect.

Background:

Lebanon’s political foundation has been built upon the identification of different religious sects. In an attempt to avoid any sectarian conflicts the government is set up as a confessionalist system. Through the identification of people’s sect on birth records, the government is divided by 18 different representational groups based upon the population. This means that the President is always a Maronite Christian, Prime Minister-Sunni Muslim, Parliament Speaker-Shia Muslim, etc.

Ever since this this was put in place  (and based on a 1930’s census) there has been considerable backlash about the inequalities and prejudices that this creates.

Impact: 

Following the birth of their son Ghadi, Kholoud Sukkarieh and Nidal Darwish were greeted with many opinions from both sides of the spectrum. The most prominent well wisher was current Lebanese President who congratulated the couple as well as all Lebanese for the birth of a sect-less child.

Those who opposed the couple’s choice to not register their child as a certain religion believed that the child would be lost growing up without a certain faith.

Here is Kholoud Sukkarieh’s interview with Al Jazeera regarding her and her husband’s choice.

Overall, this is a huge step towards equality for all in Lebanon, the country has for years struggled with this division of their population in both politics and economics. A small step like this will have majority implications in the coming years especially as Ghadi and others born without a specified sect become political involved.

-Kelly Kirk