Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Same Story, Different Narratives: The Influence Of Refugee Concerned Organizations On Egyptian Media, Shaimaa Gheith

Theses and Dissertations

It has been documented in the literature that media usually portrays refugees negatively, which affects how the public reacts to them. Consequently, organizations catering to refugees, referred to in this thesis as Refugee Concerned Organizations (RCOs), try to influence the media aiming to influence the public. So, they produce prepacked information and employ different communication tools. Using the agenda building theory, this research investigated the influence of communication tools used by RCOs on Egyptian media focusing on Facebook and news websites. Qualitative content analysis was conducted for 615 Facebook posts and 111 News reports and supplemented by semi-structured interviews with …

The School Of SharīʿA Judges: SharīʿA Courts’ Reform And Legal Modernization In Egypt (1907-1927), Yamen Nouh

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studied the history of the school of sharīʿa judges (1907-1927) as an essential episode of the reform of Sharīʿa courts in Egypt in the early 20th century. The thesis studied the school in connection with the broader context of legal modernization of the Egyptian legal system. The study explored the institutional, pedagogical, and legal aspects of the reform that the school advocated. The study analyzed the impact of the school’s pedagogy on the practice of the Islamic judiciary and the theoretical conception of Sharīʿa. The study used a significant yet understudied historical source: the judicial press. A comparative …

Seashells Lost In The Desert: The Syrians Exodus Through Sudan To Egypt, Waseem Khattab Shahla

Theses and Dissertations

The Syrian conflict of 2011 resulted in a significant number of Syrians fleeing their homes in search of safety and stability. After the Syrian conflict in 2011, Syrians were allowed access to many countries, including Egypt. However, after the prolonged conflict, access to numerous nations was severely restricted. This thesis examines the challenges faced by Syrian refugees in their journey through Sudan to Egypt, where they hoped to find a better life. The study specifically focuses on the irregular migration route taken by Syrians through Sudan and Egypt, with a focus on the period of 2016 to 2021. This period …

The Sidelined Front-Liners: Eritrean Cbos In Greater Cairo, Nada Hegazy

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the recognition of the important role that community-based organizations play, among international actors concerned with refugee issues, as well as UNHCR’s adoption of a community-based approach to protection; community-based organizations continue to be sidelined by these actors. This thesis explores the role that Eritrean CBOs play in improving the lives of Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers living in Greater Cairo. It also investigates the challenges that they face while trying to operate in Egypt. Using a multi-scalar lens, the research examines the relationships between Eritrean CBOs and Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers, the State, UNHCR and its partner organizations, in addition …

The Family Values: Is It Really About The Family? Analyzing The Family In The Egyptian Discourse Through A Sociological Lens, Taher Sabala

Theses and Dissertations

The Egyptian state has put on its shoulders the responsibility of protecting the family and its values. But how this family, in a massive society like Egypt, can be defined? In this paper, I argue that it has never been about protecting the family. However, it is an attempt to shape the citizens into small separate hives which give the State the power to gain access to the intimate details of its citizens’ lives through which they can be easily monitored, managed, and controlled. By analyzing Michel Foucault’s work on government, power, sexuality, and family, I travel through a historical …

The Construction Of Chaos: Cinematic Representations And Politics In Egypt In The 2000s, Fayrouz El Sayed Karawya

Archived Theses and Dissertations

I would like to thank my committee that made writing this thesis a real enjoyment and a fruitful learning process. My committee did not reserve any effort to help me focus on every single detail pertaining to my arguments. They provided me constantly with perspectives and references to deepen my engagement with the subject, suggested new angles and ideas to reinforce the reasoning of my case. They were supportive all the way and extremely passionate about the topic of my thesis and the larger field of my study. I am deeply grateful for Dr. Hanan Sabea, my advisor whom I …

Livelihoods And Family Formation Among Eritrean Refugees In Cairo, Erin A. Ajygin

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses data gathered from a survey conducted in November and December of 2009 to provide an overview of the demographic profile and livelihoods strategies of a sample of Eritrean refugees in Cairo. Study results revealed that the Eritreans surveyed were predominantly single, childless and living in Cairo without family. While much of the existing literature on refugee livelihoods has focused on refugees living in camp settings and/or on refugees’ roles as spouses and parents, this study examined the strategies engaged by a group of single, urban refugees. Using a livelihoods framework comprised of capabilities, assets and activities, survey …

Between Return And Resettlement: The Formation Of Iraqi Refugee ‘Communities’ In Cairo And Amman, Emilie K. B. Minnick

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether or not there is community formation among Iraqi refugees living in Amman, Jordan and Cairo, Egypt. These two countries were chosen as case studies because they offer an opportunity to analyze how different host country conditions in the Global South have an impact on the process of community formation. While Egypt is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and Jordan is not, access to rights in both countries is similarly restrictive. Furthermore, whereas there has been a long history of forced migration from Iraq to Jordan and Iraqi social networks …

Civil Society: Agent Of Change In Egypt, Ola Kubbara

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Egypt has been dominated by an authoritarian regime for decades now, which ensured its ultimate monopoly over power and government, as well as over civil society. Civil society in Egypt is a very important factor that determines the development of the process of democratization, as well as the political and social stability of the state. The role of civil society, the degree of its autonomy or its repression, reflects on all aspects of political, social and economic spheres. The lagging democracy and the augmented level of social repression and stagnation in Egypt, is due to the weakness of civil society. …

Men Selling Sex In Cairo And Alexandria: Perspectives On Male Sex Work And Aids In Egypt, Souad Hamada

Archived Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative approach was used to study the etiology of male sex work in Egypt and report on issues related to sexual identity, sociodemographic characteristics, and work and HIV contexts of male sex workers. Seven male sex workers aged between 17 and 37 were interviewed in Cairo and Alexandria. This preliminary, exploratory study suggests the existence of a strong relationship between childhood sexual abuse and later involvement in sex work. Other secondary factors driving some youth into sex work include poverty, inadequate salaries, unemployment, low education levels and other types of childhood maltreatment including physical, emotional and psychological abuse and …

The Egyptian Popular Committee In Solidarity With The Palestinian Intifada: A Social Movement, Hebatallah Mahmoud El KalaʻAwy

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The thesis explores the Egyptian Popular Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian J nti fada in reference to contemporary theories of social movements. It attempts to analyze the EPCSP from two perspectives. One is by discussing the objectives, internal structure and activities of the committee in light of the characteristics of new social movements and the other is by analyzing resources mobilized by the committee such as the alliance of different political trends, the integration of professional syndicates into the different activities, the establishment of branches of the committee in various governorates and the use of advanced technology in enhancing …

The Problematic Of Generating Anthropological Knowledge: A Case Study Of A Health And Gender Development Project In Rural Egypt, Tonje Holm

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores how boarder guards limits the amount of knowledge an anthropologist really can obtain doing research. The research is based upon a concrete case study in Egypt where local and national government bodies "border guard" how knowledge is gained within a development project. This research shows how although anthropological knowledge and research provide a body of theory within which policy is created the policy should come with a "health warning". Field research undoubtedly give more information than so called "armchair" research, but it is far from giving the policy makers the full picture of the society, or project …

The Importance Of Information To Repatriation Decision-Making: The Sudanese Refugees In Cairo And Their Main Sources Of Information, Eline Sophie Vorland Holen

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The UNHCR Handbook on Voluntary Repatriations, as well as Executive Committee Conclusions, highlights the importance of adequate information upon evaluating repatriation. Nonetheless, few studies have concentrated on how refugees collect and evaluate available information regarding conditions in country of origin, and whether the accessible information is adequate to make an informed decision on repatriation.

This thesis analyses how southern Sudanese refugees in Cairo collect, evaluate, and use information about conditions in Sudan when they evaluate the possibilities of a return to Sudan. Five sources of information are available to the refugee community: the general Sudanese community in Cairo, including newcomers …

Poverty, Gender, And Religion: A Reflection On The Status Of Coptic Women In Poor Areas, Ereeny Talaat Zaki

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to explore the reasons behind the oppression of poor Coptic women. It examines the factors that position Coptic women in inferior status. It analyzes these factors at the intersections of lack of resources, poverty consequences, and gender inequalities that shape life experiences of this segment of the Egyptian society. Central to my argument is the influence of religion on the lives of those women. In the light of fieldwork conducted in the poor area of El Salaam city, the main finding is that religion affiliation, especially if this religion is adopted by a minority …

Gender, Citizenship And Personal Status Laws: Egypt & Morocco Compared, Yvette Fayez Isaac

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This research puts forward the argument that the state can utilize, negotiate and transform laws according to the different forces it faces and that this has its implications on citizenship rights for women. The study accomplishes this by comparing Egypt and Morocco, two Arab [and North African] countries that have undergone recent changes in their personal status laws (also called family laws). Methodologically speaking, this is achieved through examining the impact of the rising pressure of women's groups and local NGOs to challenge the rising Islamic activism (internal factors), and the impact of globalization, and international conventions and organizations (external …

Wife Battering In Contemporary Cairo: An Exploratory Study In Rights And Perceptions, Iman Mohamed Eissa

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The universal phenomenon of wife battering has calamitous consequences on the battered woman, usurping her security, human agency and autonomy, thus relegating her to a secondary status citizen, incapable of contributing to the community's development. Research on wife battering in Egypt is very limited. The goal of this thesis is to explore battered women's lives in contemporary Cairo, focusing on battered wives' perceptions of abuse in relation to discrimination against women in Egypt and women's citizenship rights within the Egyptian state. This study was conducted using a qualitative research methodology. Ten in depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with battered …

The Search For A New Islamic Identity: Middle Aged Elite Women, Noha Ali Abou Gazia

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the construction of a new Islamic identity by middle aged elite women in Egypt. I argue that the search for a new Islamic identity by elite women should be viewed as a redefinition of identity fully autonomous from the current codes imposed by the media. For them, the search for meaning takes place in the reconstruction of defensive identities informed by Islamic notions. The construction of a new Islamic identity by elite women should be viewed in terms the conflicts they face in society. The conflict arises from the society's endeavor to impose certain codes and the …

Gender, Forced Migration And Paid Domestic Work: Case Studies On Refugee Women Domestic Workers In Cairo, Amira Abderahman Ahmed

Archived Theses and Dissertations

The main aim of this thesis is to be able to fill a research gap with regard to women and their survival strategies with emphasis on refugee women, mostly from the Hom of Africa, who have fled to Cairo during the 1990s. The presence of refugee women in the domestic labor sector in Egypt is a relatively recent phenomenon. Cairo, as a large urban setting in the developing world, provides an interesting site where all of these distinct actors play the same role and share at least two structural factors: being migrant women and domestics. The basic argument of this …

The Judges Club Of Egypt: A Space For Defending Democracy And The Independence Of The Judiciary, Atef Shahat Said

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the Judges Club of Egypt [JCE] between January 1985 and March 2004. My research demonstrates that Egyptian judges rely on the JCE as a space for defending democratic reform and the independence of the Judiciary in Egypt. I will argue that while several laws and internal regulations within the Egyptian judicial structure forbid judges from being involved in any political activity, Egyptian judges craft strategic discursive mechanisms for expanding the role of the JCE beyond its seemingly confined function within the court. This thesis suggests that the JCE is a â meta-spaceâ [neither NGO nor officially part …

Desire Across Boundaries: Marriage And Sexuality In A Transnational And Global Context, Mustafa Abdalla

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Church Politics: A Modernist Approach To The Role Of The Coptic Orthodox Church Of The See Of Alexandria In Constructing Group Identity Among Egyptian Copts, Ranya Abdelsayed

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Change Among Bedouins: An Exploratory Study In El-Hammam, Egypt, Neveen Gorgy Dawoud Azmy

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This research was triggered by an interest in examining the changes that took place in Bedouin communities, especially when it comes in the framework of a development process. The existing writings on this topic are divided into two camps: one maintains that change within Bedouin communities was very minimal, and to a great extent inconsequential, whereas, the other argues that changes therein were quite considerable. This thesis, through examining the local Awlad 'Ali community of el­Hammam, holds the latter view. Thus, the research traces the recent changes in their area and compares and contrasts the changes that their society has …

The Household Without Husband: The Role Of The Wives Of Egyptian Professional Labor Migrants, Maissa El Rifaei

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the experience of the families of Egyptian professional labor migrants. It specifically targets the role of the wives of these migrants and the responsibilities· they take on while their husbands are away working in the Arab Gulf. Previous research has focused on the economic and political effects of labor migration on labor exporting and labor importing countries. More recent studies, with a sociological and anthropological perspective, have investigated labor migration within rural and urban low-income communities. However, work on professional, middle class and upper-middle class families has remained so far minimal. For this research project, in depth …

The Social Structure Of Divorce Adjudication In Egypt, Malak El Husseiny Zaalouk

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Professional Associations In A Developing Country: The Case Of The Lawyers And Engineers Syndicates In Egypt, Mervat Fayez Hatem

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Students Perceptions Of The Future: A Sociological Analysis Of Auc Students, Mona Makram Ebeid

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.