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Out of sight, out of mind... Cairo's street children: a question of agency and justice

This thesis explores how the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) is translated into Egypt’s national law and examines the practical applications of the law via programs and services provided by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) when tackling the street child phenomenon. The first part of...

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Main Author: Wang, Shirley
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2013
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access_status_str Open Access
author Wang, Shirley
author_browse Wang, Shirley
author_facet Wang, Shirley
author_sort Wang, Shirley
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.
description This thesis explores how the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) is translated into Egypt’s national law and examines the practical applications of the law via programs and services provided by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) when tackling the street child phenomenon. The first part of this thesis is focused on critically examining the theoretical and philosophical implications of the construction of the “child” and “adult”, and its subsequent effects on the regulation of the human body, agency and contemporary justice. The usage of language is important as it is closely linked with the contemporary notion of justice in relation to the CRC. By deconstructing the terms “child” and “adult”, I try to complicate and challenge the ways in which we understand the dichotomy and how we engage with these labels. I argue that the current theoretical and philosophical implications of child and adult as elaborated in the CRC perpetuate negative repercussions on the concept of justice, while simultaneously paving way for programs and services that both perpetuate and defy the child-adult dichotomy. The second part of this thesis examines how the CRC has been implemented into practice via NGOs in Egypt when dealing with street children. Although there are many NGOs working in Egypt, I have chosen to engage with Plan Egypt. The focus of my analyses is on the methods and implications of projects and services provided and the differences in the treatment and availability of programs for street girls and boys. Through observations and interviews, I explore how the organization both contribute and defy the contemporary manifestation of justice in relation to the State and law. Lastly, through this analytical engagement, I try and understand the current function and role of contemporary justice, as manifested in both State legislation and in programs and services offered by Plan Egypt when addressing street children. By examining pre- and post-January 25th online published news articles, I argue that although these frameworks allow street children some room for agency. However, the ultimate outcome of contemporary justice goes beyond the perpetuation of the child-adult dichotomy and into the realms of governmentality and biopolitics of all individuals.
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institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
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license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2013
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spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-1938 Out of sight, out of mind... Cairo's street children: a question of agency and justice Wang, Shirley This thesis explores how the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) is translated into Egypt’s national law and examines the practical applications of the law via programs and services provided by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) when tackling the street child phenomenon. The first part of this thesis is focused on critically examining the theoretical and philosophical implications of the construction of the “child” and “adult”, and its subsequent effects on the regulation of the human body, agency and contemporary justice. The usage of language is important as it is closely linked with the contemporary notion of justice in relation to the CRC. By deconstructing the terms “child” and “adult”, I try to complicate and challenge the ways in which we understand the dichotomy and how we engage with these labels. I argue that the current theoretical and philosophical implications of child and adult as elaborated in the CRC perpetuate negative repercussions on the concept of justice, while simultaneously paving way for programs and services that both perpetuate and defy the child-adult dichotomy. The second part of this thesis examines how the CRC has been implemented into practice via NGOs in Egypt when dealing with street children. Although there are many NGOs working in Egypt, I have chosen to engage with Plan Egypt. The focus of my analyses is on the methods and implications of projects and services provided and the differences in the treatment and availability of programs for street girls and boys. Through observations and interviews, I explore how the organization both contribute and defy the contemporary manifestation of justice in relation to the State and law. Lastly, through this analytical engagement, I try and understand the current function and role of contemporary justice, as manifested in both State legislation and in programs and services offered by Plan Egypt when addressing street children. By examining pre- and post-January 25th online published news articles, I argue that although these frameworks allow street children some room for agency. However, the ultimate outcome of contemporary justice goes beyond the perpetuation of the child-adult dichotomy and into the realms of governmentality and biopolitics of all individuals. 2013-06-01T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/939 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/1938/viewcontent/Wang_2c_20S._20Thesis_20ALL.pdf The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Street children cairo (Egypt)
spellingShingle Street children
cairo (Egypt)
Wang, Shirley
Out of sight, out of mind... Cairo's street children: a question of agency and justice
title Out of sight, out of mind... Cairo's street children: a question of agency and justice
title_full Out of sight, out of mind... Cairo's street children: a question of agency and justice
title_fullStr Out of sight, out of mind... Cairo's street children: a question of agency and justice
title_full_unstemmed Out of sight, out of mind... Cairo's street children: a question of agency and justice
title_short Out of sight, out of mind... Cairo's street children: a question of agency and justice
title_sort out of sight out of mind cairo s street children a question of agency and justice
topic Street children
cairo (Egypt)
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/939
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/1938/viewcontent/Wang_2c_20S._20Thesis_20ALL.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT wangshirley outofsightoutofmindcairosstreetchildrenaquestionofagencyandjustice