The idea of women's empowerment in Egypt is present, but nodes within the current national support apparatus need to be energised and enhanced, writes Fatma Khafagy* A country's women's support apparatus -- or national women's machinery (NWM) -- can take several forms. It could be a ministry or secretariat of women's affairs, a council or commission for women or for the family that would address women's and/or gender issues. "Any state should have a mechanism in charge of the promotion of women, which is the central policy coordinating unit. Its main task is to support government- wide mainstreaming of a gender equality perspective in all policy areas," noted the UN Beijing Platform of Action. The establishment of NWMs in many countries, including Egypt, is characterised by a number of dualisms that have shaped and defined this process. These dualisms are: international versus national motivation, secularism versus religion, and top-down state tradition versus bottom up democratisation. The first dualism points to the fact that the obligation to establish NWMs originated at the global level when the UN initiated a call for their establishment in the 1970s. Egypt established, in the 1970s, a Women's Affairs Directorate inside the Ministry of Social Affairs. However, this department did not contribute much to the advancement of women due to its lack of authority. In 1993, following a push by the UN to establish stronger mechanisms, a National Committee for Women was established within the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM). This was changed to a stronger mechanism called the National Council for Women (NCW) in 2000. This latter mechanism was granted more authority through a wider mandate and was allocated funds within the government's budget. The second dualism stems from whether women are considered first and foremost as individuals in their own right or as family members whose main task is to take care of children. The Women's Committee in Egypt was first placed under the NCCM. This reflected a desire to assuage traditional elements by showing that women were more valued as mothers and gatekeepers of families. The situation changed in 2000, when women's issues were divided between two different councils: the NCCM and the NCW. The third dualism juxtaposes the top down and bottom down approaches. Like other established machineries in Arab countries, the established Egyptian national women's machinery shows strong signs of a top down, state feminism approach. The decisions to establish these machineries were taken by a few important public figures, often by first ladies supported by their close and trusted associates without much participation from women's groups or NGOs. The initiatives often partly reflected a desire to improve the countries' external image, in addition to genuine political will to promote the status of women, albeit as defined by a few select women not necessarily representing the interests of wider women's groups. Furthermore, in most developing countries, the internal governance of the national women's machineries includes symptoms of what is known in African literature as "first ladies' syndrome," where political space is in the hands of the wives of men in power and their associates. Nevertheless, the involvement of first ladies in women's machineries can give prominence to certain women's issues. The National Council for Women The NCW in Egypt has a broad mandate that includes drafting a national plan for the advancement of women, advising on draft laws related to women's issues, issuing newsletters and documents, running training sessions, and representing women in international and regional forums. The NCW is a large bureaucracy with a secretariat, 11 standing committees and branches in each of the country's 26 governorates and Luxor. Some of the staff in the secretariat and in the branches is paid, while others are volunteers who receive honoraria for specific tasks. These include board members of standing committees. While a small number of board members in the NCW are from women's NGOs, they are chosen in their personal capacities, not as representatives of important NGOs. The same applies to the appointment of secretariat staff. A question arises as to whom the appointed board members in the NCW represent within the council. Among 11 standing committees, the NCW has one committee devoted to NGOs. None of the strongest feminist NGOs are included in this committee, though they are sometimes invited to some council events. The NCW- NGOs relationship is not formalised; procedures and channels of dialogue are not clear. Achievements of the council Despite these inherent obstacles, the NCW was able to mark some achievements during its rather short life of seven years. In particular, it was able to influence some legislative changes that have benefited some groups of women. For example, the change in nationality law helped many Egyptian women married to non-Egyptian husbands give Egyptian nationality to their children. The remaining exception is that of Egyptian women married to Palestinian husbands who still cannot pass their Egyptian nationality to their children. The NCW also helped in initiating the "Khulaa" (women's right for divorce) and family court laws, and in changing social insurance and tax exemption laws. The first two laws, however, still face many problems, either in implementation or because of gaps in the legislation itself. The NCW also succeeded in initiating the establishment of equal opportunity units in most ministries to look at issues of gender equality in recruitment, promotion and training. However, these units lack adequate funds and the authority to implement decisions. The NCW also established an Ombudsman Office for Gender Equality in 2002. The NCW evaluation report of September 2004, which included a number of recommendations, concluded that: "The Ombudsman Office has taken great strides and has succeeded in continuing to offer great services to women in Egypt. However, the office has no legal power to implement its decisions after investigating women's complaints. Hence its sustainability and effectiveness are doubted." Recommendations for the future The NCW's ability to influence government policies is affected by organisational issues and a lack of national consensus on gender policies. In addition, patriarchy existing within the state weakens the implementation of many of the NCW's directives regarding the advancement of women. No single institution can change prevailing bureaucratic gender discriminatory mindsets unless serious gender-sensitive reform takes place in all aspects of government work and at all levels and organisations. This is needed if the machinery is to redress gender discriminatory laws, to remove reservations placed by Egypt on the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and to facilitate implementation of new legislation in favour of gender equality. Another recommendation is for the NCW to discontinue its involvement in implementation activities that are better undertaken by NGOs. Instead, it should develop a systematic approach to transforming gender relations through strongly addressing the strategic interests of women in a clear manner. It would also help if the NCW would distance itself somewhat from the government, given that it aims to promote and monitor gender equality issues in government agencies. Its success requires working inside the state, but sometimes not in accordance with state policies. Unfortunately, the NCW is reluctant to criticise other governmental institutions, or to demand change of some of their gender discriminatory practices. The NCW should also consider steering away from an approach centred on welfare programmes and projects targeted specifically for women in favour of a new approach focused on strengthening women's power and addressing their strategic interests, such as their citizenship rights, and freeing them from gender-based violence. A more democratic and participatory culture, integrating women's rights organisations into decision-making processes, is needed. This would mean changing to a bottom up approach instead of the top down approach adopted. There is also a great need to prioritise the results to be achieved and reforms to be initiated. The NCW should seek to improve coordination and collaboration with women's NGOs based on transparent procedures that allow for systematic consultative processes with these NGOs. Guidelines on NGO participation and rotation should be in place. An expansive strategy Another recommendation is to divide the composition of the Council equally between civil society organizations and governmental departments and to have civil society elect their members from feminist organizations. The Council could also establish a think tank that helps in conceptualizing and evaluating the different programs of the Council. It should be noted that a national women's machinery cannot do miracles without other institutions and legislation in place, such as a strong Gender Equality Act as well as a strong ombudsperson for gender equality, a parliamentary commission for gender equality, gender focal points in all governmental institutions, and a consultative commission on gender equality for the preparation of development plans. To conclude, a number of legitimate questions should be discussed and examined with a very wide number of stakeholders. Important among these: Is it time for a different and new model of a national mechanism for gender equality? Could such a model consist of a more independent, inclusive type of organisation while still remaining a public organisation? * The writer is a policy/legal analyst on an EC-funded project on the "Economic Role of Women in the Mediterranean Region".
