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Website Link Includes Equality Now
Suggested Actions.
UPDATE 7 March
2012: Despite the promise of the early political changes in
TAKE ACTION NOW! Please join
us as in urging the Egyptian authorities to realize the following demands being
made by Egyptian women at the march:
1. *
Achieve equality among all citizens, women and men, in provisions of the
constitution and all laws, and create mechanisms to ensure their proper
implementation and recourse for any violations.
2. *
Ensure gender equality and fair representation of qualified and experienced
women in the committee that will write the new constitution.
3. *
Take appropriate measures to ensure fair political participation of women
at all levels of decision-making: in political parties, trade unions and state
institutions.
4. *
Preserve the social and economic rights achieved by women in their previous
struggles and ensure their ability to attain them.
5.
*Comply with all international treaties that protect the rights of women,
children and human beings in general, and work on lifting reservations to the CEDAW convention.
6.
*Establish full citizenship rights and the rule of law that will lead to the
revocation of all forms of discrimination based on sex, age, marital status,
class, ideological affiliation, etc.
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Partners in the revolution and democratic Egypt ©UN Women |
2011 July 10 - Women of
Already, women have been excluded from the drafting of
the constitutional declaration, which was adopted by the Supreme Council of the
Armed Forces on 30 March 2011 and will guide the nation through a transitional
period until a new constitution is drafted and approved. Some provisions
of the constitutional declaration suggest that women may continue to be
excluded from participating in the public sphere. For example, article 26
stipulates that, "
Women have also been excluded from the new government led
by Prime Minister Issam Sharaf such that out of 26 ministers only one is a
woman. In addition, it is unclear how many seats will be designated for
women in the September 2011 election for the new Parliament, which consists of
the People’s Assembly (the lower house) and the Shura Council (the upper house).
Article 38 of the constitutional declaration only stipulates that, “The law
regulates the right of candidacy to the People's Assembly and Shura Council in
accordance with any electoral system which may be determined that includes a
minimum of participation of women in both houses” without defining the minimum
participation. In 2009, the People’s Assembly approved a quota of
approximately 14% of the seats in the People’s Assembly being designated for
women. The Shura Council currently does not have a quota for women.
Previously women’s representation in both houses, the People’s Assembly
and the Shura Council, was historically very low - less than 2% and 7%
respectively.
In June 2011, the
·
Women to be represented in the committee that will be entrusted with
drafting the new constitution, in all legislative committees, and in all
dialogue forums that discuss national issues.
·
Women to occupy at least 40% of the ministerial positions and 30% of
parliamentary electoral lists to comprise of women.
·
The new constitution to spell out clearly full equality between men and
women in all spheres of life.
·
Women to have equal opportunities in accessing the labor markets, credit,
capital and skills training and protection from any kind of sexual harassment
in the workplace.
·
All discriminatory legislation against women to be reviewed and revised and
in particular Family Law to be reformed to reflect human dignity and justice
for all members of the family.
·
Women graduates of law schools to have equal opportunities to acquire
judiciary posts.
·
Establishment of a strong national women’s machinery along with other
mechanisms such as gender focal points in all ministries and governorates; a
gender equality committee inside the parliament; and an Ombudsperson for gender
equality to ensure gender mainstreaming in all policies, plans and programs of
the government and of the legislative and judiciary systems.
·
A national policy to be formulated to reflect a positive image of women and
to help create a culture with no discrimination against women.
The Egyptian Constitution states that, "All citizens
are equal before the law. They have equal public rights and duties without
discrimination due to sex…."
In its concluding observations following its meeting with
the Egyptian government in February 2010, the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, tasked with monitoring implementation of CEDAW,
called upon Egypt “to adopt temporary special measures…in order to accelerate
the full and equal participation of women in the various phases of the
electoral process”; “to modify, or repeal, without delay and within a clear
time frame, discriminatory legislation” and “to adopt effective measures in the
formal labour market to eliminate both horizontal and vertical occupational
segregation, narrow and close the wage gap between women and men and apply the
principle of equal remuneration and equal opportunities at work...”
Currently, parliamentary elections are scheduled for
September 2011, followed by the presidential election in November.