Activists Challenge Egypt's Views On Women's Status in Society

On March 24, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi convened a meeting with women’s groups and activists at the presidential palace, where he announced a new initiative to “support the rights and freedoms of the Egyptian women.” Morsi, a former member of the guidance office of the Muslim Brotherhood, called for a “new system” to reach “solutions through a series of workshops” to discuss women’s issues with the government-run National Center for Social and Criminal Research.

Officially, the event was an Islamist president reaching out to the opposition and civil society following a rash of criticism of the ruling party’s conservative views on women’s role in society and the Muslim Brotherhood’s objection to the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women earlier in March. For many, however, Morsi's effort was too little, too late. The government’s new initiative revealed a presidency that is struggling to understand women’s basic demands and economic needs.

Over the past year, Islamist views on women’s issues have been increasingly put to the test by an unprecedented rise in sexual assaults on female protesters, growing unemployment and lack of economic opportunities. Many of those invited to the meeting with Morsi dismissed this latest initiative as a populist measure aimed at an international audience. “There is a difference between being invited to participate and being invited to witness an announcement,” said Hania Sholkamy, an assistant professor at the Social Research Center of the American University in Cairo. Those in attendance had received notices of the event only days earlier.

While women took an active role in the 2011 revolution, their political representation has declined over the past two years. Before the dissolution of parliament, the percentage of women in the Egyptian legislature had dropped from 12.5 percent in 2010 to 2% in 2011, according to TNS Global.