Hossam Bahgat Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights Cairo, Egypt A Human Rights Lawyer

Hossam Bahgat is the founder and director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a Cairo-based independent human rights organization established in 2002 to promote and defend the the rights to privacy, health, religious freedom and bodily integrity, through research, advocacy and strategic litigation. With training in political science and international human rights law, Bahgat is also the vice president of the Egyptian Association against Torture, an Advisory Board member of the New Woman Foundation and a Steering Committee member of Sexuality Policy Watch. In 2006, the EIPR brought before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights a case challenging the Egyptian government’s failure in its positive obligation to prevent and prosecute sexual violence against women. The case (filed jointly with Interights) is the first of its kind for the African human rights system and a final decision on its merits is expected by the end of 2008.