Egyptian women and the 25th of January Revolution

Presence and Absence

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3979164
AutoresMaya Morsy (autor correspondente)
Ano2014
Volume19
Fascículo2
Páginas211-229
Data de publicação2014-03-15
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13629387.2013.858035
OpenAlexW1999228863
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas15
Referências citadas1

This paper analyses the challenges confronting Egyptian women during the transition government of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). It provides the background for the legal system under Mubarak and offers a comparative look at the legislation that was being discussed or has been implemented during the political transition after the 25th of January Revolution. A backlash against women and their agenda prompted conservative calls for amendments of legislations that were passed during the Mubarak era. This paper underscores the importance of women's involvement in transitional processes for a successful democracy in Egypt. It underlines the shortcomings in the design of electoral laws in relation to including women and other groups such as the Copts and young people. It describes the way by which the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) – the MB's party – first ignored then reconfigured the mission and mandate of the National Council for Women during the transitional period. It provides a detailed account of the Mubarak-era laws, comparing them to those proposed by various political forces and opposed by the FJP government. The paper also compares Egyptian laws both before and after the revolution with the international human rights conventions to which Egypt is party, pointing at inconsistencies and outright violations, including the treatment of gender-based violence (GBV), the debate around female genital mutilation (FGM) laws, and issues of gender and Shariʿa in the draft Constitution.Keywords: gender equalityrevolutiontransitiondemocracydiscriminationCEDAW Notes†The analysis, the policy recommendations of this paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme, its Executive Board or its member states. The ideas represented in this paper reflect the views of the author.1. 'For the purposes of the present Convention, the term "discrimination against women" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.'2. Article 16 concerns women's rights within marriage and family and Article 9(2) concerns the equal right of men and women to pass their nationality to their children.3. Correspondence of the NCW with Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the CEDAW National Report 2010.4. http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N10/242/54/PDF/N1024254.pdf?OpenElement5. The Constitution was suspended in July 2013 after the 30th of June Revolution.6. Decree of the Establishment of the NCW Decree of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Number 90 of year 2000 states the following: 'An NCW shall be established under the President of the Republic. It shall have a moral character and its seat shall be in Cairo; The Council shall consist of 30 members comprising public figures and experts in women's affairs and social work. The term of membership shall be three years, subject to renewal. The Council shall be created by a Presidential Decree; The Council, at its first meeting, shall elect its President; The mandate of the NCW shall be the following – To propose public policy matters for society and its constitutional institutions on development and empowerment of women to enable them to play their economic role, and to integrate their efforts in comprehensive development programmes – To draft a National Plan for the advancement of women and to solve their problems – To monitor and evaluate the general policies related to women and formulate its recommendations and observations to the concerned parties – To advise on the draft laws and decrees related to women before submission to the competent authorities. Recommend the adoption of proposed laws and decrees that contribute to reinforcing the enhancement of women's status – To advise on all agreements relating to women – To represent women in international fora and organisations dealing with women's issues – To establish a documentation centre, collect information, data, and research on women, and to conduct related research and studies – To hold conferences, seminars, symposia, and debates on women's issues – To organise training sessions to raise awareness of the role, rights, and duties of women – To publish newsletters, magazines, and other publications informing the public of the goals and functions of the Council – All other issues referred to the Council by the President of the Republic – The Council shall meet upon the request of its President at least once every two months or at the discretion of its President. The Council quorum is attained by a simple majority. Council decisions shall be adopted by a majority vote of the members present in the meeting. Should there be a tie vote, the President's vote shall break the tie – The President of the Council may seek the expertise of any individual who may be invited to attend meetings discussing issues relating to the Council's mandate – The Council establishes the following Standing Committees in order to carry out its functions as stipulated in Article Three: Education, Training and Scientific Research Committee, Health and Population Committee, Non-Governmental Organizations Committee, Culture Committee, Economic Affairs Committee, Political Participation Committee, External Relations Committee, Governorates Committee, Legislative Committee, Media and Information Committee, Environment Committee. Each Committee shall be chaired by a Council's member. The committee may seek the assistance of experts to examine any issues referred to it. The Council may also appoint ad-hoc or temporary committees to carry out specific tasks requested by the Council. The NCW shall have a General Secretariat headed by the Secretary-General to assist the Council in carrying out its tasks and notify the competent authorities of decisions and recommendations. The President of the Council shall appoint the Secretary General for a three-year term, subject to renewal. The Secretary General shall be responsible for implementing the Council's decisions, the overall supervision of the General Secretariat personnel, administrative and financial affairs and also the management and organisation of the work in accordance with the Council's by-laws. The Secretary General of the Council shall represent the Council in its dealings with other parties and before the judiciary.State institutions shall provide the Council and its Secretary General with data and statistics that are related to its functions. The Council shall have a special budget for its revenues and expenditures. The fiscal year shall begin and end with the beginning and end of the government's fiscal year. The resources of the Council shall consist of the following: allocations in the government's general budget, donations and grants which the Council may decide to accept, a special account shall be set up to collect these resources in a public sector commercial bank. The surpluses shall be carried forward at the end of each fiscal year to the budget of the following year. The Council shall draw up its by-laws for the organisation of its work and for personnel, financial, and administrative affairs. This Decree shall be published in the official Journal. This Decree was issued by the President of the Republic on 2 Thul'kaada, 1402 Hegira, 8 February 2000.'7. 'National machinery for the advancement of women or national mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment' as central policy-coordinating structures inside government mechanisms, whose main task is to support government-wide mainstreaming of a gender-equality perspective in all policy areas. The necessary conditions for their effective functioning, according to the PFA include: their position at the highest possible level of government, under the responsibility of a cabinet minister, decentralized planning, implementation, and monitoring, involving non-governmental and community organisations, adequate human and financial resources, the possibility of influencing development of all government policies. The definition of the 'National machinery or national institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment as being the government structure within the government machinery' has led to different interpretations in different member states. All countries acknowledge the fact that the government structure set up for this particular purpose should have a lead mandate to coordinate, facilitate, and monitor policy formulation and implementation to ensure that gender equality and women's empowerment perspectives filter through all national policy formulation, reviews, and programme development. The components of the national machineries should be inclusive to include all institutions and structures that are key players in influencing policy changes and transformation processes to enable gender equality and women's empowerment to be realised. Some member states that have conceptualised the definition to incorporate the different structures, their national policies have categorically elaborated the components of the national machinery. The national machinery is a comprehensive structure which consists of structures in the executive, legislative, independent bodies set up by statutory law, non-governmental organisations. The role played by the NGOs and civil society institutions is also defined as part of the national mechanism for the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. Most member states acknowledge the contribution made by the other non-governmental institutional structures, yet structured relationships on how they coordinate and link are not established in most cases. As a result, coordination to involve such structures is on an ad hoc basis. And it is also not clear whether they are part of the components of the national machinery or not.8. Khafagy, Fatma. National Women Machineries in Egypt. UN Women, May 2011.9. The Coalition of Women's NGOs in Egypt is composed of the New Women Foundation, Women and Memory Forum Center of Egyptian Women Legal Aid, El Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Victims of Violence; Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development (ACT), Women's Forum for Development, Alliance of Arab Women, Egyptian Association for Family Development. 'Nazra' Association for Feminist Studies; 'Ommi' Association for Rights and Development and 'Heya' Foundation10. UN Women's Egypt Standard Operating Principles for Women's Participation in Democratic Transitions (2011

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