Female candidates for the mid-term Shura Council elections want more support, reports Reem Leila For years women have been encouraged not only to vote but to run as candidates in elections, their political empowerment presented as essential to developing society as a whole, whether by the National Council for Women (NCW) or any number of other political and civil institutions. Yet only 11 of the 490 candidates standing in the mid-term Shura Council elections on 1 June are women. Most are running as independents, though Hoda Youssef in Qena is standing for Tagammu Party, Hoda El-Tablawi in Kafr Al-Sheikh for the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Nadia Galal in Fayoum for Al-Ahrar Party. Commentators suggest female representation in the Shura Council will remain weak for the foreseeable future because the large constituencies present a far greater hurdle to them than the smaller constituencies of the People's Assembly, especially when they face male candidates who have traditionally run very personal campaigns. For the past five years the National Council of Women (NCW) has been running training programmes to boost women's political participation. During the elections, the NCW will establish information centres to direct female voters to polling stations and organise programmes to increase the political awareness of women in general. Egyptian women received full political rights in 1956. Practice of such rights, though, has been hindered by a number of social and cultural factors. The council's training programme and similar initiatives, says NCW Secretary- General Farkhonda Hassan, have succeeded in creating an atmosphere that enables women to participate in the decision-making process. The NCW is not, however, allowed to offer financial support to candidates. "What we can do is offer training courses to female candidates and help in changing a culture that denies women leadership posts. The council is stressing the importance of increasing the scope of women's participation in all fields of life, particularly in politics," says Hassan. "My target is for women to occupy at least 10 per cent of the council's 264 seats, even if that means more women being appointed by presidential decree." Hoda Youssef, has not attended any of the NCW's training courses. She complains that the council's role in supporting women in the elections is limited. "The Tagammu Party supports me financially, paying for the flyers and banners needed for the electoral campaign. Its resources, though, are severely limited, certainly when compared to the NDP's," says Youssef. "I feel very abandoned. None of the non-governmental organisations [NGOs] or the media is supporting female candidates." Nadia Galal, the Al-Ahrar candidate in Fayoum, believes that the NDP's candidate who is running against her will win the elections due to the heavy financial support the party is providing. "Fayoum is a poor governorate and the Al-Ahrar Party is financially weak," says Galal. She is running a campaign that promises improved health, educational and social services. "Fayoum's water is un-potable. Many villages lack proper sanitation. Fayoum desperately needs schools and hospitals. I will also exert efforts to provide job opportunities for the governorate's young unemployed," she says. The NCW, says Hassan, is providing women with all the support available within the framework of its strategy. She is, however, worried about the decrease in the number of female candidates running in the Shura Council mid-term elections. "In the last poll there were 18 female candidates running for the elections, this time there are 11. I believe female candidates will have a better chance in the upcoming People's Assembly elections. Constituencies of the People's Assembly are smaller in size and more numerous, and should return more women," she argues. The NDP's only female candidate complains of a lack of party support. "The party is focussed on male candidates and does not extend the same support to me," says El-Tablawi, "while the NCW offers training in theory, regardless of whether the training is applicable in practice or not."
