Student nurses arrested for protesting lack of state recognition and jobs

Police forces dispersed a protest in Qasr al-Aini Street Sunday by a few hundred student nurses from a private institute demanding government employment.

The students demanded the state acknowledge their qualifications and allow them to work in government positions, like their peers graduating from state institutes, according to eyewitnesses.

The students had previously raised this issue with the prosecutor and were promised their concerns would be considered.

According to journalist Solafa Magdy, who was covering the protest, security forces surrounded demonstrators, who moved into the street and blocked traffic. They then attacked demonstrators and arrested a large number of them. Two security vans surrounded those who remained.

Citizens assisted police efforts to crackdown on the protest. A woman in a four-wheel-drive pinned a protester against another car as she was fleeing from security and yelled, “I will kill you,” at her, among other insults.

There have been several protests in Qasr al-Aini by various educational groups recently, including high school students protesting education policies and Masters and PhD holders demanding employment.