Since Egypt’s school year began on September 21, student protests have spread in opposition to the military-backed government which removed elected President Mohamed Morsi from power in July of this year. Despite warnings issued by the Education Ministry, students voiced their discontent by holding marches and rallies in multiple provinces.
Prior to the start of school, the largely Islamist group National Alliance for Defense of Legitimacy called upon Egyptian students to show their support for President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood through a week of protests and marches. In response, the Education Ministry of Egypt issued warnings of the potential consequences of civil disobedience and disrupting school hours with political activities.
Ignoring these warnings, university and high school students began their school year demonstrating their dissatisfaction with the current regime. Students in provinces throughout the country distributed flyers, carried signs, and marched to gain the support of other students in opposing Egypt’s police and military. Chanting slogans such as ”I am a student, not a terrorist, down with the coup-makers” and “down, down with military rule” these youth demonstrated their growing frustration with the current political situation.
Police and security troops responded to the disruptive activities with a series of arrests that led to several violent interactions and subsequent injuries. This is just the latest in many recent clashes that have occurred between Egyptian youth and and police. Following President Morsi’s removal from power, the government cracked down on Morsi’s supporters, so far resulting in the arrest thousands and the death of hundreds.
Egyptian youth have played a pivotal role in politics since the uprisings of 2011 removed President Hosni Mubarak from power. Many times since then, they have returned to the streets to protest what they consider to be political abuses of power, and to demand greater freedoms and an end to oppressive government actions.
These most recent protests coincide with the September 23 court ruling that outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood organization and all of its activities throughout Egypt. Since then, protests have spread with thousands of Egyptians taking to the streets to oppose what they consider to be abuses of power by the government.
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