Revolution, Global Development and Disability Politics in Egypt

The Egyptian Revolution and its consequences mainstreamed disabled people’s demands into national policies. It opened further opportunities for self-organisations, as well as impacting upon tactics and activism. Egypt’s ratification of the UNCRPD three years earlier had been a driving force towards the advocacy for inclusive rights. The global move from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), five years after the Revolution, was a further factor exploited by the disabled people’s movement to increase the recognition of disability within Egyptian policies. This thesis examines the influence of global and national events on the disabled people’s movement’s participation in government policy consultations and considers how this situation differed from the pre-revolutionary period. It also analyses the unique unity established by disabled activists’, determining whether this shift was temporary, only lasting the 18 days of the Revolution, or more permanent. Finally, it examines Disabled People’s Organisations’ (DPOs) satisfaction with the mainstreaming of their demands within post-revolutionary policies, such as the 2014 Constitution. This research ties together literature on the Egyptian Revolution and global disability discourses, to underpin recommendations for Egypt to benefit from the application of an inclusive approach to its Sustainable Development Strategy. It is the first research to utilise the ongoing discussions about SDGs within the post-revolutionary era, with disability in mind. In answering the research question – how, and to what extent, has the Egyptian Revolution affected national conditions for the implementation of international agreements on disability rights (UNCRPD) and sustainable development (SDGs) – this qualitative research relies on document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups as data generation methods. Research participants include: Egyptian politicians, including disabled MPs, DPOs, and UN representatives. The same methods were applied to analyse Egyptian government and civil society development projects. A major finding of this thesis is the positive influence of the UNCRPD on increasing the number of DPOs, who then had more ability to advocate for their rights. Both the Egyptian Revolution and SDGs contributed to their collective participation within national policies.