Although women won just 2 percent of seats in the newly formed Parliament here, Egypt is witnessing unprecedented female participation in politics, civil society and public life. Today, Egyptian women plan to head to Parliament headquarters for International Women’s Day to deliver a list of demands.
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by Sarah Elhaddad, Reporter, Thursday - March 8, 2012
CAIRO, EGYPT – Engy Ghozlan will join other women’s rights activists today in Cairo, Egypt’s capital, as they march to Parliament to mark International Women’s Day.
Ghozlan says the march is not a celebration, but rather an opportunity for women to deliver a list of demands to the new Parliament, which is currently 98-percent male.
“There are two levels for this event: the street march, whose call extends to every Egyptian who cares about Egyptian women’s future, dignity and equality, and the Parliament stand and delivery of demands,” she says.
Ghozlan, co-founder of HarassMap, a website that collects data about sexual harassment in Egypt, says that the march aims to reassure the nation that women’s rights groups have no plans to give up their fight for more freedom and equality. The list of demands looks to make women’s voices heard in Parliament after few women received seats in recent elections.
“The demands include a fair representation of women in the constitution committee and for the issues of women’s equality to be stressed on in the writing of the new constitution, whether in socio-economic rights or civil liberties,” she says.
Ghozlan says the march aims to remind civilians and new members of Parliament that the Egyptian women’s struggle is not a new phenomenon. It’s carved in history, and progress should reflect that.
“In the 1930s, we had the first Egyptian female pilot,” Ghozlan says. “It’s a shame that today we are discussing whether women’s place is home or not.”
She says that Egyptian women have always participated in politics and that the recent results of the parliamentary elections are not a real reflection of the roles women are playing on the ground, whether in political parties or different initiatives.
“You cannot stand in front of the natural progression of life,” she says. “Women are there, and they marched along and worked along and will not be pushed to the side.”
Egyptian women are marching to the newly elected Parliament today to present a list of demands in light of International Women’s Day. Women’s political participation can also be seen on university campuses, where female students have been resurrecting student movements. Although women won just 2 percent of Parliament’s elected seats, they say their political participation has been strong historically and continues to grow, with many women voting for the first time last year.
Egyptian feminists and women’s rights organizations are marching today to mark – not celebrate – International Women’s Day. Bearing the name “Women With the Revolution,” the march will start at the journalists’ syndicate in Cairo and head to Parliament headquarters. Women in other cities are also carrying out the march on a smaller scale.
Various groups have collaborated to organize the event, including the Coalition of Women’s NGOs in Egypt, feminist Nawal Al-Saadawi’s Egyptian Women’s Union and women’s committees from different political parties. Organizers aim to recruit a million women to participate.
Women say that the march is another sign that their political participation is alive and well, assuaging fears by some that their rights are declining.
Last month, a number of activists, political movements and political parties called for a strike on Feb. 11 to mark the first anniversary of former President Hosni Mubarak’s overthrow. Their goal was to pressure the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which took over after Mubarak was ousted, to transfer power immediately to civilians and set a date for presidential elections.
Although many sectors turned down the call to strike, it found its way to many Egyptian universities, with female students leading demonstrations.
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