On August 17, 600 workers at the Nahdet Samanoud Textile Factory in the Gharbia governorate of Egypt’s Delta began their strike against the jeans manufacturing company’s refusal to implement a government-mandated minimum wage increase announced earlier this year. The decree would nearly double the workers’ current salaries, averaging around 3,500 EGP ($72) monthly, to 6000 EGP ($123). The company responded by enlisting security forces to surround the factory, cutting the electricity and sealing off windows in an attempt to force out the majority middle-aged female workforce in Egypt’s stifling…