Sonia Farid
Sonia Farid

Sonia Farid, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of English Literature at Cairo University. She is a translator, editor, and political activist. Her social work focuses on political awareness and women’s rights and her writing interests include society, politics, and security in Egypt. She took part in a number of local and international conferences and published several academic papers. She can be reached at [email protected]

Egypt and Ethiopia between deadlock and breakthrough over Nile dam

Upon his return from Cairo on January 19, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced that he rejected Egypt’s proposal to seek the mediation of the World Bank in the dispute over...

The rise and fall of Egyptian presidential hopeful Sami Anan

In the early hours of Saturday January 20, former Egyptian Chief of Staff Major General Sami Anan announced his intention to run for president in the upcoming elections. The Tuesday after, Anan was...

Is reopening of Egypt’s ‘unlicensed’ churches a step toward sectarian stability?

The Egyptian Ministry of Housing has issued a decree allowing Christians to perform their prayers in unlicensed churches until they obtain permits as official houses of worship. The decision came in...

Lifting the freeze on Mubarak’s assets in Switzerland: Why now?

The Swiss Federal Council lifted the freeze on the assets of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak following the end of the mutual legal assistance between Egypt and Switzerland.The agreement...

EXPLAINER: The endless ‘war on niqab’ in Egyptian universities

On December 11, the American University in Cairo AUC announced a ban on the niqab, the face veil, citing security concerns. “In order to ensure a safe and secure environment for all members of...

How Egypt’s Al-Azhar aims to crack down on unauthorized ‘TV fatwas’

In a press conference held at the Egyptian Supreme Council for Media Regulation, a list of the names of 50 scholars authorized by al-Azhar, Egypt’s top religious authority, to issue religious...

Understanding the (mis)calculations made by Egypt’s Ahmed Shafiq

Former Egyptian minister of aviation, the last prime minister in the Mubarak wra, and runner-up in the first post-revolution presidential elections Ahmed Shafiq had been away from the limelight for...

An Egyptian interview with a Libyan terrorist: What went wrong?

Abdel Rahim al-Mesmari, a Libyan national, is the only surviving militant among the group involved in the shootout with Egyptian police in Bahariya Oasis in the Western Desert.Apprehending him alive a...