Womens Rights in Egypt Corey Jay Foister Northern Kentucky University

Research paper done for Professor Salzman, PSC 366 Politics of Africa. Spring Semester 2014

Project Statement The events that have taken place in Egypt over the past few years has reached a global audience thanks to the Arab Spring. While the media in the United States focused on the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, there was an even more important event taking place in Egypt, the uprising of womens rights groups in the state. In this research paper we will look at the African state of Egypt and womens rights, to be more precise we will be looking at how free women are and how many rights they have compared to men. Are women equal to men or is the female population in the state grossly disenfranchised? If womens rights are not equal to men I will then use the information from my literature reviews to plan out ideas and reforms for women that can advance them in Egyptian society. This topic is very important because the state of Egypt is vital to the United States because they are an important ally to have when it comes to our foreign policy with the state of Israel. Egypt is also the 10th richest country based on per capita income and has the third highest total population in Africa. The topic is important because all women around the globe should have equal access to an education, job, housing, food, voting, etc. as men do in the country. No country should limit the potential of their female citizens. Finally my personal reason for choosing the topic is that I was lucky enough to get to see former President Jimmy Carter in Cincinnati at Joseph-Beth Booksellers on April 1, 2014. He was signing his new book, A Call to Action, which deals with women rights across the globe and how religion, violence and power are holding back millions of girls and women back in society. I have always thought that womens rights is an important issue but meeting President Carter and reading his new book gave me a new spark in interest in researching womens rights in an African country.

Literature Review The following collection of scholarly sources will be used to answer my research question and to help us better understand what and why the current conditions exist for women in Egypt and what we can possibly do to address the issue(s) if there is in fact a problem in Egypt when it comes to womens rights. 1.) Tripp, A. (2013, December 1). Women and Politics in Africa Today. Democracy in Africa. Retrieved , from http://democracyinafrica.org/women-politics-africa-today/ I. The article looks at the presence of women in African politics. The author asks how we can explain the recent shifts across the continent. Finds that there is a steady increase of womens political participation since the mid-1990s in Africa. Women hold 50% of the African Union parliamentary seats. Looks at factors that affect the expansion of womens political movement in Africa. The conclusions she draws in the piece is that key advances are being made to help explain the increasing rates of female representation. Countries like Uganda have set up the Womens Parliamentary Caucus. II. With this article I can start looking at Egypt through the factors that the author has setup. First the fast track; does Egypt follow the mode of many African countries with the adoption of an electoral quotas? We can see the role that the U.N plays in pressuring states in Africa to give women a bigger role in society. The article also address the issue of religion and how is has been particularly slow in advancing womens rights and political leadership because of centuries old beliefs on gender and their role in society. The Post conflict countries in Africa have also passed twice as much woman-friendly legislation when compared to the non-post-

conflict states. One can hope the conflict that Egypt is going through right now will advance womens rights and role in society. 2.) Malik, K. (2013). Human development report 2013: the rise of the South: human progress in a diverse world. : United Nations Development Programme. I. The research identifies more than 40 developing countries that have done better than expected in human development in recent decades. When it comes to Egypt they have a Gender Inequality Index of 126th out of 148 with a value of 0.590 in 2012. The Maternal mortality is 66 per 100,000. Women that serve in the parliament is a very low 2.2%. Females over 25 with a secondary education however is a 43.4% and women make up 23.7% of the labor force in 2011. The article concludes that Egypt has much work to still do when it comes to womens rights. II. With my second scholarly source I now have the start of data that shows that my question about if women are equal as men as being not true. Womens rights and political activity is very low. Women in the state have great numbers when it comes to maternal mortality and 43.4% of women at 25 have a secondary education which is a very good sign. However only 2.2% of women are in Egypts government and only 23.7% of women are in the workforce even though 43.4% have a secondary education. The data is starting to paint a picture that there is a gender gap and inequality in the African state. 3.) Karam, A. M. (1998). Women, Islamisms, and the state: contemporary feminisms in Egypt. New York: St. Martin's Press. I. The article looks at womens rights movements and feminisms in Egypt along with the conflict it has with the Islam religion in the state. The author concludes

that the secular and Muslim feminist discourses have become reactive instead of being creative. Feminist have to deal with the rising conservatism in the society as a whole and society pressure. Feminist strategies have ranged from those that work from within Islamist agendas and those that run counter to the teachings of Islam. The author believes that Egyptian feminists have the benefit and welfare of Egyptian women in mind. The author believes feminist have a greater potential to appeal and move forward. All strategies they take must be gradual, dynamic and accommodating. II. This could go well with my research as I could talk about the history of feminism in Egypt. The research mentions the 1919 revolution which was ground breaking for women because it was the first time women were involved in such political rallies and was able to demonstrate in public. Also the creation of the Egyptian Feminist Union which concerned itself with education, social welfare, and the changes in private law to provide equality between both sexes in Egypt. Eventually the group paved the way for a new constitution which allowed some changes to the position of women in society. 4.) Morsi, M. (2014). WOMEN'S RIGHTS FAIL TO BLOOM IN EGYPT'S DEMOCRATIC SPRING... Human Rights Brief, 21. I. This article focuses on the failure of the Egyptian government to recognize womens rights. It cites the ouster of President Morsi and the return of military rule of the nation as problems that keep women from achieving equality. The nation faces difficulty in developing into a more liberalized and democratic state the author believes. It concludes that the efforts by several womens rights groups

seeking a place in the political future of the country must be successful if women want to advance in society. II. The article mentions a survey conducted in 2013 that named Egypt the worst for women out of 22 Arab countries. This survey is very important in answering my question if women are equal to men and how strong womens rights are in the state. Right now there are high amount of sexual harassment cases and even more disturbingly are the high rates of female genital mutilation that is being reported in the state. The survey is conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and also cited is a UN report that says that a report done by the U.N in April of 2013 suggest that 99.3% of all females are sexually harassed by males. It is socially acceptable in Egypt to sexually harass women. 5.) Giovanni, J. D. (2013, December 1). Enter The Muslim Sisterhood. Newsweek Global, 161. I. The article talks about the role of women within the conservative Muslim Brotherhood group in Egypt. It focuses on the lecture by Wafaa Hefny, the granddaughter of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood of the state. There has been much criticism about the role of women in the organization and there is still questions about how the group will address the terrible treatment of women in the state but for now women have a powerful ally in the Muslim Brotherhood if only temporary concludes the author. Women should use the group to advance their own causes. II. The article as well as sources mentioned before has made it clear that women have not been allowed to take power in politics in Egypt. The article mentions

briefly of a female politician which I have just read up on myself, Hala Shukrallah. She is the first woman to ever head a political party in Egypt and this is a major step forward for all women in the country. She leads the liberal Dostour Party. Her election marks a huge social shift in a country which politics are controlled by strongmen. She is also the first Christian to lead a political party as well. A woman has also been elected the head of Egypts influential doctors syndicate. Women are making political advancements but at same time the overall picture for women is bleak. 6.) Khan, A. (2013, January 1). No Country for Women. Macleans, 126. I. The article discusses the increase in assaults against women in Egypt during the Arab Spring uprising and protests. The author argues that womens rights have been set back thanks to the Arab Spring because a more radical government is taking over which will roll back womens rights they already have. Sexual violence and rape against women in Tahrir Square has been sky high. The article also talks about how Egyptian men target conservatively dressed women and the police force during a blind eye to the whole events. Calls on international groups to put more pressure on the government to treat women with more respect and to give them more rights in the state. II. The article gave a gruesome account of women getting raped during the Arab Spring. That women must face sexual harassment if they want to express politically how they feel about their country. 150 cases were reported during the ousting of President Morsi. Many more however go unreported which makes you wonder how many girls were sexually assault during the protest. The OpAntSh,

which is an anti-sexual harassment campaign is not working in the country. This article also mentions the U.N study that 99.3% of all women in Egypt have been sexually assaulted. 7.) Baron, B. (2005). Egypt as a Woman: Nationalism, Gender, and Politics. San Francisco: University of California Press. I. The book looks at how women for a very long time have been denied their political rights. The 1956 constitution however they were allowed full suffrage. In the Article 1 it states that both genders are entitled to exercise right to vote. The book looks at what role women have played and how nationalism has set back women because many in the country dont want to change. The author suggest that until women crack through and take over more seat in the Egyptian government then nothing will really change. II. This will provide me a lot of data in my research on female suffrage in the country and the constitutional amendment that allowed this to happen. The book states that one of the biggest rights women have in the country is the right to vote and if more voted they have the population to influence the outcome of elections. 8.) Blaydes, L. (2009). Women's Electoral Participation in Egypt: The Implications of Gender for Voter Recruitment and Mobilization. Middle East Journal, 63. I. The article looks at the extent that gender considerations impact voter recruitment in Egyptian elections. Recruitment tend to empower women economically rather than politically as elections provide an opportunity for disadvantaged women to sell their votes. Women who vote for Islamist candidates can increase the influence with common knowledge of their candidates the author concludes. It

reduces the effectiveness of government repression when women do not sell votes and they study the candidates and vote on the issues effecting them. II. The article does a great job at explaining how political parties in Egypt tries to win the women vote over even though their platform offers very little for females in the country.

Analyzing the Data There is many things to look at when judging womens rights in Egypt. The first I will look at is the political rights of women in Egypt. As mentioned in the literature review, women in Egypt have been denied their political rights for a very long time and it wasnt until the 1956 constitution that they were allowed full suffrage (Baron). According to Article 1 of the 1956 constitution, both men and women, upon reaching the age of 18 are entitled to exercise their right to vote for the presidency, the parliamentary and the local council elections. The year of 1971 highlighted another victory for women on the political stage when Article 40 of the Constitution provides that all citizens are equal before the law and they have the same rights and responsibilities. When it comes to top management positions in the state women occupy 25.7% of total civil servants and women make up 22% of the finance sector. 17% of culture and information sectors are composed of females and 11.5% of women make up the education and research sectors. (Blaydes). As mentioned before women make up only 2.2% of the states parliamentary system. The number of women who have served as members of the Peoples Assembly from 2000 to 2005 is 12, 3% of total membership. The Shura Council had 18 woman members giving female 6.8% of overall control. The amount of female politicians is considerably bare and a major issue

and another reason why the government does not work in favor of its female citizens because the elected body are males that are okay with the current landscape of womens rights in the country. The number of women holding diplomatic positions in the state is 158. Marriage is another issue we must look at while understanding the lack of womens right and political mobility in Egypt. Marriage is a very important part of Egyptian society as it is in many countries across the globe. While laws pertaining to divorce and marriage have changed over the years, they are still bias toward men even though slow reforms continue to help women (Khan). Egypt followed the Quranic texts of marriage for the longest time until the state created marriage laws in 1929 with Law #25. The reforms laid down the ground rules for how woman can request for a legitimate divorce. First is if her husband failed to provide nafaqah, second if her husband was dangerous or ill, if she was deserted by her husband or if she was maltreated by her husband. In 1971 more reforms were made and there was debate wither or not Shariah law should be included in the constitution when it came to marriage. The new rules made the legal marriage 18 years old for women and 21 years old for men, permission was needed for polygamy, mothers should be allowed more guardianship and divorces cant happen unless a judge is present when the divorce takes place (Tripp). An interesting fact is that among those who get divorces, almost 90% are couples who were illiterate. Most women follow traditional religious practices such as having limited contact with men who are not family or they are married too. They wear veiling and many of the schools in Egypt are segregated by gender. This is not the only thing that is gender segregated as work, groups and recreation all has gender segregation (Karam).

Women with a secondary education is almost half of the female population. The main problem is that families tend to withdraw females from schools once they reached puberty so that it limits their interactions between young males. One of the most disturbing trends and data I read during the literature review was the UNICEF report from 2012 that reported that 91% of Egyptian females ages 15-49 years of age had undergone female genital mutilation. Another startling statistic is that 99.3% of all females have been sexually harassed by someone (Malik). To me this is the biggest problem women face in Egyptian society and it comes from outdated society norms and lack of ability to more up the social ladder and lack of females with power in politics and gender segregation.

Conclusion In the end womens rights in Egypt still has many more advancements needed before I can say women are equal to men in the state. My question asked how free women are and if they are equal to men. It is apparent through this research that women are not as equal as their male counterparts and their freedom is highly limited thanks to old fashion gender and social norms and a society that doesnt allow them much opportunity and turns a blind eye to sexual assault and harassment. While women have gained suffrage, more rights when it comes to divorce, slowly more are getting employed, they enjoy a secondary education rate of almost 50% and women have just recently taking over bigger leadership roles in political party there is much at doubt when it comes to Womens rights in Egypt. We will review each one and I will offer a solution to the problem based on the research and suggestions gave in the literature review.

First women only make up 2.2% of the Egyptian parliamentary system. There is a strong need for more female candidates because based on the reading there is nothing that suggest most male voters wont vote against a female candidate just because of her gender. Women need to organize better in political groups and they need to register more females to vote and get them out to the polls on election day, while no number was given on how many females vote, the readings I reviewed suggest that the male vote is almost triple that of the female vote. The biggest change the society needs to make when it comes to womens rights though is the idea of sexual harassment being ok in society. Figures and politicians that are highly regarded should speak out against Egyptian society norm that harassment of a woman is okay to do. Women have to go out to politically demonstrate with the fear of being raped by men in daylight because there isnt anyone there that will protect them. They are often beat down and stripped of their clothes and harassed and sexually assaulted. The society needs to learn to better respect their female peers and there needs to be public shaming and harsher penalties for those who engage in such acts. The fact that 99.3% of all women have been sexually assaulted or harassed in Egypt based on a UN study shows that this is not a tiny problem but one that is keeping womens rights from advancing because you have a society that sees that it is ok to sexually bother unknown women in public. Gender segregation in the country I believe is another society norm that in the end hurt women rights because so many males dont see women as being like them because they are always separated from them in society. When you dont associate with a group you often become disconnected with them and assume you are not like them or worse you see yourself as better than women. As mentioned in the reading outside encouragement might help Egypt treat women better in the country. The UN has created quotas in other countries and can perhaps do the same here. If the

amount of women in Egyptian politics moved from 2.2% to 10% then maybe more antiharassment policy would be set in play. The more female politicians in Egypt gives a second perception of society that is lacking with a parliamentary of almost all males. Women in the country also need more government programs or support groups that will help them find jobs in the state. Currently women make up less than 30% of the workforce yet almost 50% of women have a secondary education yet they are never able to get a job and put their skills to work. Egypt shouldnt limit the potential of so many female citizens. There should be more females in the workforce and while the education number is good compared to other stats, Egypt should strive to have over 50% of women having a secondary education. Women also need to be given a ladder that they can move up to higher job ranks and titles, right now women control very few high positions. Yet at the same time more women have PH.Ds in the countries than males do yet males control more of the top employment and leadership positions and are paid more than females for the same job. We need a level playing field. The government should force women to get an education because many are pulled from school once reaching puberty while males stay in school for many years after that. In the end Egypt must come together and want change. They must want to treat their women with better respect and crack down on the grossly high number of 99.3% of women being sexually assaulted or harassed. To me that number going down to 50% within the next few years and Egypt passing harsh penalties for those who sexually assault women will create a better society for women. In the end that is the best thing the government can do for its female citizens, the rights to be able to be protected from unwanted advancements. Egypt has much more work to do before women are equal to men but there is hope that the society can slowly turn from the worst treatment of women for an Arab state to one of the best Arab states for women.