CAIRO: Egyptian human rights activist Hossam Bahgat will be one of seven advocates honored in November 2011 by Human Rights Watch (HRW), with the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism.
Bahgat is the founder and director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), operating in Egypt since 2002.
“Hossam and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights have been instrumental in shaping the human rights agenda in Egypt, before, during and since the January 2011 uprising. They’ve been a main source of information, analysis, and policy and have led campaigns on institutional reform,” said Heba Morayef, researcher from Human Rights Watch.
Bahgat and EIPR have labored to document abuses of personal rights and have been influential in demanding the implementation of laws for a variety of individuals throughout Egypt. EIPR has striven to secure that policy and social engagement are grounded in an understanding that full protection for personal rights are indispensible, no matter the context.
“We wanted to bring attention to the sphere of private and bodily rights. We wanted to show that violations of reproductive and sexual rights, the right to privacy, bodily integrity, the right to health, discrimination against people because their health status of disability as well of the denial to choose practice as well as change one’s religious beliefs are all part of the human rights agenda and are all worth of attention and very important,” Bahgat told Human Rights Watch.
EIPR’s mandate, subscribing to the advancement of personal rights, enables the Cairo based non-profit to differentiate itself as well as augment the efforts by other human rights groups who represent or accentuate the collective or political rights of Egyptians.
When asked of the obstacles faced in progressing human rights Ramy Raoof from EIPR said, “The main pressure we exert is grounded in the implementation of the existing laws. There may be several laws that exist, but no attention is paid to them."
When speaking of the manifold representation by EIPR Bahgat told HRW, "The more diverse the issue we work on the more passionate my colleagues and I get about this work we do and the more respect we have from the larger audience.”
He went on to provide an example, highlighting the variety of cases by saying, “We show we are against harassment and interference with the women’s right to wear the niqab, but at the same time we take on a case of a transgender person who is facing discrimination. This is not only out of principle and commitment that we have to the human rights of all, but it is also a way to stress the point we are trying to make, which is the violation of the dignity, equality or rights of one citizen in Egypt, is a threat to everyone.”
Operating under the Mubarak regime presented impediments to the operations of EIPR, but when asked what kept the initiative active, Raoof said, “Hope and the daily, small success keep me going. Whatever we achieve, big or small, we can know there is chance to improve people’s lives."
As the upcoming elections in Egypt usher in a series of nuanced voices, opinions, and agendas, EIPR will retain its resolve in pressing for the personal rights of all Egyptians regardless of gender, religion, or party.
Bahgat voiced his commitment upon acceptance of the award by saying, "The best way we can protect our own rights is to protect the rights of those of whom we disagree with.”
