WUNRN
By Mel Frykberg
"I
wanted to be part of the revolution, to help Egyptians gain their freedom and
women gain their rights, but unlike my brother I had to argue with my parents
long and hard before they eventually allowed me out for a few hours,"
Assam who
wants to be a journalist one day, is from a new generation of Egyptian women
better educated than their mothers and grandmothers, and who believe
unequivocally in equality for women despite the restrictions many families
impose.
She
struggles with such cultural constraints but believes, like several other
Egyptian women from varying backgrounds IPS spoke to, that the revolution will
ultimately be good for women.
Rina El
Masry, 40, is an immaculately groomed businesswoman. She is the daughter of a
Coptic Christian mother and Muslim father. Like
"I
believe the ceding of power to
Under
Mubarak special quotas were reserved in parliament for women. And women were
given particular rights. Egyptian women, unlike many women in the rest of the
Arab world, can sue for divorce without having to prove maltreatment.
Egyptian
women married to foreigners can pass their citizenship on to their children,
which is not the case in more socially liberal
When the
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took over, the female parliamentary
64-seat quota was overturned, and constitutional amendments were formulated
without the imput of women.
SCAF also
subjected a number of female protestors to beatings and virginity tests, while
refusing to allow women to head governates and municipalities throughout the
country. The right of women to sue for divorce without having to prove
maltreatment is also under review.
Mariam
Kirollos, 22, is a Coptic Christian, and member of the Egyptian Feminists Union.
The group has been conducting brainstorming meetings to strategise a way
forward for womens’rights under the new government. Kirollos agrees with El
Masry that revolutionary change will ultimately benefit women.
"Despite
the setbacks after SCAF took over the revolution is still ongoing.
Womens’voices are now being heard. We are no longer silent. Issues that have
been swept under the carpet for too long are now in the public domain and being
discussed by civil society," Kirollos told IPS.
While the
three women from disparate backgrounds all voice hope towards equality for
women becoming a reality in
At a mass
protest by Egyptian women in
Muslim
Brotherhood presidential candidate Muhammad Mursi opposes women being allowed
to serve in the presidency. He has called for implementation of Islamic law
and, at campaign rallies, referred to Islam’s holy book, the Quran, as the
constitution.
But Egyptian
feminists are up against more than Islamist politicians. A large portion of
Egyptian
feminists have argued that these women were coerced into voting for
conservative elements, and were unable to understand the implications of what
they were supporting. Against this background was the excellent social services
provided by the Muslim Brotherhood for the poor and illiterate, where a good
portion of the Brotherhood’s support comes from.
But is it
not just poor and illiterate women who lean towards religiously conservative
views. And not all men do. "My father gives me far more understanding and
freedom than my mother does,"