The only real hope for Egypt is the formation of a government of national unity where the progressive forces are at the centre of the emerging political dispensation

Since the removal of the dictator Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian people envisioned a new socio-political and economic order only to see a reconfigured neo-colonial order with the Muslim Brotherhood at its helm. Consequently ordinary people have met state violence with the necessity of revolutionary violence on the street.

Commission tells Egyptian government to compensate women as well as to investigate the assaults and punish those responsible

International NGOs would not be allowed to settle and activate in Egypt without prior authorisation. Receiving foreign government funding, directly or indirectly, would be flatly prohibited

The new regime has proven to be incapable of tackling sensitive economic issues. The loan from IMF is not inevitable or necessary to pull the economy out of an imminent recession, but rather risks pushing Egypt into a spiral of public debt.

735 police complaints of sexual harassment were recorded over the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday that ended October 29, according to a statement released by the Egyptian government. Sexual harassment continues to hit Egypt with increasing reports of incidents taking place across the country. Yet, Egyptians today acknowledge this long-standing problem exists, and growing social mobilization has brought together men and women in the fight against harassment.

A group of 17 political parties, NGOs and human rights associations in Egypt have called for loan negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be ended immediately, citing a lack of transparency and the undemocratic nature of the current development. They are continuing their protests of a potential $4.8 billion IMF loan to Cairo in order to allow the Egyptian government to overcome pitfalls in spending.

Egypt's national body for women's issues, the National Council for Women, held a conference on Monday entitled 'Egyptian women reject the draft constitution'. According to the Council's head, Mervat El-Tellawy, the draft constitution has not taken into consideration various international charters and agreements which Egypt has signed. Furthermore, the Al-Azhar document of suggested principles for all parties to abide by while writing the constitution has not been incorporated into the draft.

A new IMF delegation has arrived in Cairo for negotiations about a renewed loan to Egypt. But the real agenda of Western international financial institutions is to consolidate and expand their control of the country.

In a recent report published by the Cairo-based Nadim Centre for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims, 34 cases of death, 88 cases of torture, and seven cases of sexual assault at the hands of Egyptian police were recorded during Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's first 100 days in office. In the time period cited, the report recorded a total of over 247 cases of alleged police brutality.

'Their attitude to workers, trade unions and economic and social rights is even more hostile than that of the National Democratic Party,' Egypt’s now-dissolved former ruling party. That is the verdict of Kamal Abu Aita, head of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU), on the performance in power of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The MB withdrew its earlier support for a new law on trade union freedoms,Speaking to Al-Akhbar, Abu Aita was particularly critical of the behaviour of the MB’s labor minister, Khaled al-Azhari, charging that there was evidence he had been actively inciting employers and management against protesting workers in various institutions.

An Egyptian movement started to thwart sexual harassment during Eid Al-Adha has recorded 300 attempted attacks during the first two days of the holiday. A 2008 survey by the Egyptian Centre for Women Rights found that 83 per cent of local women and 98 per cent of foreign women had been subjected to harassment at least once.

During the uprising that toppled Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak women stood shoulder to shoulder with men in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, pressing the revolution’s demands for freedom, justice and dignity. But those who hoped the revolution would make them equal partners in Egypt’s future claim they may be worse off now than under Mubarak’s authoritarian rule. 'After the revolution, most of Egyptian society – and especially the Islamists – began attacking women’s rights,' says Azza Kamel, a prominent women’s rights activist.

Egyptian Popular Current leader and former presidential contender Hamdeen Sabbahi joined representatives from Egypt's opposition groups and civil society organisations, to announce the launch of a national front defending a 'constitution for all Egyptians' in a press conference late Tuesday 23 October. The front’s aim, they asserted, is to push for a constitution that better represents Egypt's diverse society and expresses the spirit of last year's 18-day uprising.

An Egyptian talk-show host faces a four-month jail term after a court convicted him of insulting President Mohammed Morsi, state media reported on Monday. Tawfiq Okasha, whose show appears on his own channel, can appeal the sentence after paying 100 Egyptian pounds ($16.39) bail, a source in the court in southern Egypt said. The substance of the offending insult was not immediately available from court sources.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and INTERIGHTS have initiated a case against Egypt following its failure to address violations by army personnel against female detainees, in what has come to be known as the 'virginity tests' incident. The case, brought to the African Commission, alleges violations of the African Charter, to which Egypt is a signatory. The Commission, which sits twice a year, is expected to consider the NGOs’ request to hear the case during its upcoming session in October in Côte d’Ivoire.

Two top Muslim Brotherhood officials are being investigated by Egypt’s Attorney General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud over their role in allegedly inciting President Mohamed Morsi supporters to attack female protesters around Tahrir Square. Mohamed el-Beltagy and Essam el-Erian are under investigation, Mahmoud said. Mahmoud himself had only the day before defied an order to step down from his position after President Morsi attempted to push him out after a court acquitted former top Hosni Mubarak officials of their role in the infamous 'Camel Battle' during the 18 days of protests that ousted his rule.

A man facing trial for publishing videos critical of religions should be immediately released by the Egyptian authorities and all charges against him dropped, Amnesty International said. Alber Saber Ayad, an activist from the 2011 uprising, is charged with 'defamation of religion'. If convicted he could receive a six-year prison sentence and a fine of 500 Egyptian Pounds (US$82).

Egyptian doctors, who have been waging a partial strike since 1 October, are now ratcheting up pressure on Egypt's health ministry by threatening to submit their resignations en masse. According to the strike's general committee, at least 15,000 doctors' resignations will be tendered within coming days if their demands go unmet.

The panel writing Egypt's new constitution has released an unfinished draft of the document, calling for a public debate on the charter in the face of mounting criticism. The parliament-selected panel is dominated by Islamists. It has come under criticism from liberals and secularists who accuse the panel of seeking to place limits in the new constitution on religious freedoms and women's rights.