From the Daily News Egypt:
Last February Mervat Rashad, a journalist with Nahdet Misr newspaper, was attacked by a Wafd party member while she was at the party’s office seeking information for a story.
When she decided to file a complaint at the police station, she — not being a member of the Journalists’ Syndicate — was possibly subject to up to six months in jail for taking over a false vocation.
“Thousands of journalists could be legally accountable taking on a false vocation,” said Rashad.
Due to limited access to the Journalists’ Syndicate membership, many practicing journalists are working on an informal, illegal basis.
“It’s a disaster; a lot of young journalists — actually the building blocks of many newspapers — are not counted as journalists. … On the other side, half of those who have syndicate membership are technicians,” Sayed El-Turki, a journalist with Al-Dostour told Daily News Egypt.
Despite being a member in the syndicate, El-Turki joined non-members, forming a group called the Alliance of Young Journalists, to agitate for their right to join the syndicate.