Stories about Egypt from March, 2012
Egypt: The Abou Ismail Poster Frenzy
Preparations are in full swing for the presidential elections in Egypt, set for May 23 and 24, 2012, with candidates' election posters already up on the streets. But when it comes to Hazem Salah Abou-Ismail, he sure beats all the rest in the poster frenzy. His posters are almost seen almost everywhere. Netizens grasp the opportunity to make fun of the poster bonanza.
Arab World: Happy Mother's Day – Tribute to Martyrs’ Mothers
The Arab world marks Mother's Day today, March 21. On social networking sites, netizens send out congratulations to their mothers on the day. They also remember the mothers of the thousands of martyrs killed by the authorities as they protested against dictatorship in this so-called Arab Spring.
Egypt: Women's Right to Divorce Debated in Parliament
The performance of the new Egyptian Parliament continues to stir debate on social media sites. The new parliament was seen as a move towards to democracy. However, the parliament continues to discuss matters that seem irrelevant to the country’s most pressing needs. Now, MPs are discussing a request to strip women of their right to file for a divorce.
Egypt: Baheyya Weighs in on Khaled Ali
Renowned Egyptian blogger Baheyya writes about Egypt's youngest presidential candidate – Khaled Ali, who turned 40 last month. “In this maiden presidential race, electability is hard to gauge. But if credibility is a criterion, then Khaled Ali has it in spades,” writes the blogger.
Egypt: Pope Shenoda's Funeral
From Egypt, Zeinobia covers Pope Shenoda's funeral in Cairo in this blog post.
Egypt: A Stranger in my Own Country
Dr. Nadia El Awady, Egyptian blogger and Science journalist, discussed the different dreams people had when they participated in the 25 January, 2011, Egyptian revolution, and how she is shocked that these dreams turned out to be different than hers.
Egypt: RIP Pope Shenouda III
Yesterday, the sun set on Egypt with a somber note - Pope Shenouda III, the Head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, had died after a long severe battle of illness at the age of 89. Netizens react to the news.
Egypt: The Plight of Rural Women
Egyptian blogger Ahmed Awadalla writes about rural women in Egypt in this eye-opening post. Such women, he says, suffer the “highest rates of illiteracy; bear the heavy burden of utmost poverty; lack essential healthcare greatly jeopardizing their lives; and is not represented in our new parliament.”
Arab World: Hands Off Clooney!
The United States has arrested actor George Clooney and his father Nick at a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington DC. Arab Twitter users register their protest on their arrest on Twitter.
Egypt: Flip Flop Economics to Debate the Presidential Elections
Egyptians go to the polls in May to election their new president, after 32 years of Hosni Mubarak's rule. Preparations for the big event are in full swing on the ground, generating debate which is spilling online. Tarek Amr takes a closer look at a debate between netizens discussing the merits and shortcomings of one presidential candidate.
Egypt: Full List of Presidential Candidates
Egyptian blogger Bassem Sabry posts a full list of Egyptian presidential candidates.
Egypt: Tips for a Presidential Candidate
Egyptian blogger Mohamed ElDahshan writes a post entitled: 10 tips for Khaled Ali. Khaled Ali is an activist and lawyer who is running for the presidency elections.
Egypt: Mixed Reactions to Porn Ban Proposal
Only one month after the first session of the newly elected parliament in Egypt, much debate and controversy arose. The Egyptian blogosphere and twitterverse have been watching the new parliament and tweeting under the hashtag #EgyParliament expressing demands, concerns and sarcasm. A recent episode at the parliament stirred much discussion, but this time it was about pornography!
MENA: Which Salafist Movie Would You Watch?
Iraqi Lebanese blogger Karl Sharro decided to start a new hashtag where people tweet movie names after putting a Salafist flavour into them. And like most of the humuorous hashtags, this one got spread in no time, when Twitter users in different Arab countries started using it.
