Leila Fadel

From The Heart Of Egypt's Revolt, The Pulse Of Artistic Life

Leila Fadel — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:39:00 +0000

Egypt's capital, Cairo, is now synonymous with protests and sometimes violence. Late at night, the once-bustling downtown streets are largely empty these days.

How Different Cultures Handle Personal Space

Leila Fadel and NPR Staff — Sun, 05 May 2013 09:24:00 +0000

Our perspectives on personal space — the distance we keep between the person in front of us at an ATM, the way we subdivide the area of an elevator — are often heavily influenced by the norms of the places we inhabit.

Jerry Seinfeld once focused an episode of his sitcom on the concept of personal space, giving us a new term: the "close talker."

Of course, invasions of personal space aren't always merely awkward.

Egyptian Activists Say Their Religion Isn't Your Business

Leila Fadel — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:03:00 +0000

Since Egypt's revolution began, tensions among Egypt's Muslims and Christians have only increased. Earlier this month, it once again turned deadly. Tit-for-tat killings left three Muslims and at least six Christians dead.

That and other religious violence is prompting a public debate about religious identity in Egypt. One group of young Egyptians wants to remove religious labels from national ID cards.

'Where The Trouble Starts'

Aalam Wassef, one of those advocates, will gladly tell you he's a video artist, a musician and a publisher.

Egypt's Jon Stewart Says He Won't Back Down Amid Charges

Leila Fadel — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:21:00 +0000

It's 9:30 p.m. on a Friday night, and Bassem Youssef's show is on TV screens at cafes throughout downtown Cairo.

It's the Egyptian political satirist's first show since he was summoned to the prosecutor general's office to answer questions about the jokes he makes on TV.

Egyptian Government Accused Of Abusing Protesters

Leila Fadel — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:20:00 +0000

Human Rights Watch is calling on Egypt's president to make public a report that documents police and military abuses against protesters from January 2011 to June 2012. Parts of the report have been leaked to a local newspaper Al Shorouk as well as the British publication The Guardian. In the leaked chapters there are descriptions of police violence and military torture of detainees. While a lot of this is already known about the police and military, the report was referred to the presidency in December and so far no action has been taken.

Egypt Negotiates Necessary IMF Loan

Leila Fadel — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:19:00 +0000

Two years after the revolution, Egypt is in a deep economic crisis.

Islamists Say They Are Filling Vacuum Left By Egyptian State

Leila Fadel — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:44:00 +0000

In the lush Nile Valley city of Assiut, the police went on strike earlier this month, along with thousands of other cops across the country. They demanded the ouster of the minister of interior, and more guns and equipment to deal with anti-government protests.

A group of hard-line Islamists then stunned the city, which is south of Cairo, by promising to handle security during the strike. The next day, the policemen were back at work.

But the group, Gamaa al-Islamiya, says it will continue to provide services when the government fails.

Police Officers Caught In The Middle Go On Strike In Egypt

Leila Fadel — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:36:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. Now to Egypt, where police officers are on strike.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTESTERS)

BLOCK: Down with the interior minister, is one cry heard from protesting police, as they refuse to work in more than 60 precincts across the country. The strikes come just one day before a court ruling that many fear will provoke new violence in the country.

In Post-Revolution Egypt, Fears Of Police Abuse Deepening

Leila Fadel — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:02:00 +0000

Egypt's police force was the underpinning of former President Hosni Mubarak's iron-fisted regime, and it quickly became the enemy of Egypt's 2011 revolution.

Yet there has been little to no reform of the police force to date. Human rights groups say the police have begun to act like armed gangs, laying down collective punishment in restive areas across the country. But the police say they are the victims, under constant attack by anti-government protesters.

On Feb.

Egyptian Women Speak Out Against Sexual Violence At Protests

Leila Fadel — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 10:51:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

A very different story now, from Egypt. There, sexual violence against women is on the rise. And a warning: Some of what you'll hear in the next few minutes is disturbing, starting with this: Women who show up at protests are in danger of being mobbed by men and gang raped. During the most recent demonstration, one victim was sexually assaulted with a knife, another strangled with her scarf, and another violated in front of her children.