Egypt: Making room for women to participate in upcoming municipal elections

Amid preparations for next April's local council elections, Farkhonda Hassan, secretary-general of the National Council for Women (NCW) suggests that Article 62 of the constitution be amended since it limits the participation of women to only two per cent of seats. Hassan wants to see this figure increase to at least 30 per cent, as is the case in India, where local councils are considered the basic training for women to acquire political experience. She also believes that this would prepare the legislature to change the electoral system in the future to respond to developments in society.

The required increase, according to Hassan, will only be accomplished by returning to the quota system giving women a minimum number of seats in all legislative councils. She suggested that this would be a temporary measure for 25 years or so, in order to enable women to gain experience, credibility and compete on equal basis. "The council has finished amendments to Article 62 of the constitution, but postponed submitting it for approval to the People's Assembly until redrafting the localities law," revealed Hassan.

Women in Egypt have struggled to acquire equal political rights in order to participate in formulating national policies, lawmaking, professional syndicates, NGOs, or merely to cast a ballot. Participation at the grassroots and policy-making levels would enable them to influence the development process, and ensure that their problems are addressed, given priority and resolved.

Figures in a study conducted by the NCW show that the participation of women in legislative councils, whether as voters or candidates, is not commensurate with their numerical weight in society where they constitute slightly less than 50 per cent of the population. This could be attributed to the political environment which does not encourage the political participation of either men or women -- reflected in the so-called "silent majority" -- as well as the institutional weakness of political parties and civil society organisations.

Moreover, Egyptian women have only been involved in parliamentary life since 1957 and hence have not accumulated sufficient resources or experience to compete with men on an equal basis. Lawyer and feminist Mona Zulficar noted that this is why laws were amended to guarantee minimum female representation in the People's Assembly. This was done through Law 38/1972, as amended by Law 21/1979 and Law 114/1983, regarding the People's Assembly allocating one seat for women in each constituency, totaling 31 seats or less than seven per cent of MPs.

But in an unrelated case before the Supreme Constitutional Court in 1986, a footnote stated that allocating a maximum number of seats for women was unconstitutional, on the grounds that it violated the principle of equality enshrined in the constitution. "The People's Assembly immediately amended the law and cancelled this provision," revealed Zulficar.

Women have traditionally played an important role in local councils because of their interest and involvement in the day- to-day problems of their local communities. Moreover, local councils are an important step in building constituencies to run in parliamentary elections. In 1979, under the quota system, female membership in local councils exceeded 10 per cent; but when the system was cancelled in 1986, this figure dropped to about 1.2 per cent in 1992 and 1997, and fell further in 2002 to about only one per cent, stated Zulficar.

The sitting 857 female members of local council require more support on the governmental and non- governmental levels, according to Hassan. Female candidates require political parties to nominate at least 30 to 50 per cent women in legislative elections, she said, as is the case in France where the minimum number of female candidates must be 50 per cent.

This proposal would enhance the political participation process, Hassan suggested, and end accusations of inequality since it leaves the final word to the electorate but obliges parties to promote political participation and leadership among all segments of society. Hassan added that the NCW has created a centre to contribute to building female cadres capable of taking part in different elections, as well as spread and activate the culture of participation among women.

-- by Reem Leila, Al Ahram News