In the course of a symposium on the role of women during the presidential elections, held at the Opera House on 31 May, the National Council for Women (NCW) rejected the draft law on parliamentary elections. The proposed legislation, said NCW head Mervat Al-Tellawi, compromises Egypt's image in the international community by failing to guarantee “proper representation for women in parliament”. Nor, she added, does it take into account “the capabilities, potential and ambitions of women after the 25 January and 30 June revolutions”. Former deputy head of the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) Tahani Al-Gibali told the symposium women should occupy at least 150 of parliament's 630 seats. Representation of women, she said, must reflect their weight in society and participation in the ballot which took place on 26, 27 and 28 May. “An opportunity needs be given to women to change stereotypical images of their role. “Article 11 of the new constitution requires the state to guarantee equal civil, political, economic and social rights between women and men. The constitution must be translated into laws to ensure women's rights. In truth we should have 50 per cent of parliamentary seats, yet we will be satisfied if the government raises the number of seats allocated to women from 40 to 150.” Karima Al-Hifnawi, secretary-general of Egyptian Socialist Party, suggested 500 prominent women be selected to contest seats. “It's our right to have more representation in parliament. Twenty-eight per cent of seats in the Tunisian parliament following the revolution were occupied by women. Egypt is not less than Tunisia. So how is it we are only guaranteed six per cent of seats?” Al-Hifnawi also argued that half of the 30 members the president is allowed to appoint to parliament should be women. We should be moving forward, not backward,” said Al-Hifnawi. In the 2010 parliament 64 out of the 508 seats were reserved for women. Feminist Mona Zulficar raised the question of funding the campaigns of women candidates. “Financing the electoral campaigns of female candidates is a major hurdle. Lack of proper funding prevents women from winning. The government should initiate a fund to support women's campaigns, whether they are running for parliamentary or municipal seats.” “Women are struggling to acquire equal political rights so they can take part in formulating policies and in the legislative process through election to legislative and local councils, by becoming board members of professional syndicates and NGOs, or through exercising their right to vote,” said Zulficar. Only participation at grass-root and policy-making levels will enable women to influence the development process and ensure their problems are addressed. Members of the EU Election Observer Mission (EUEOM) had requested permission to attend the symposium, which was granted. Al-Tellawi, however, refused to accept their report on the presidential elections, a copy of which she received just five minutes before the symposium opened. “The presidential elections were held in an environment that fell short of constitutional principles,” said the report. It made reference to the suppression of freedoms in Egypt, and to restrictions placed on the activities of civil society organisations. The report also included comments on court rulings. “The content of the report was beyond the mandate of the mission. The mission of the observers was to observe the elections,” said Al-Tellawi. That it broached other subjects, she claimed, was evidence that it was seeking to deny the legitimacy of the 30 June Revolution and the will of the people as reflected in free, fair and transparent elections. “You have failed in your only role which was to monitor the elections and evaluate whether they were fair or not,” Al-Tellawi told the delegation. “We are proud of our army, our people and our new president whether you like it or not.” “We do not accept your report so I am handing it back.” A few minutes later the EU mission left the symposium. “EUEOM representatives said in their press conference that the election process ran smoothly. Yet the report includes information that contradicts that statement. Such an attitude brings the credibility of the EUEOM into question,” insisted Al-Tellawi. The EUEOM subsequently issued a statement suggesting Al-Tellawi had been misinformed about the preliminary report of the mission and should read in it entirety. The delegation, said the statement, had made a thoroughly professional assessment of the vote, as was explained by the chief observer in his press conference last week which was widely reported in local and international media. It added that the EU was a strong supporter of the NCW and has funded much of its work.
