The National Council for Women is encouraging more women to stand in elections, reports Reem Leila reports In highlighting the importance of political empowerment in the development process the National Council for Women (NCW) is encouraging women not only to vote in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, but to stand as candidates. The NCW is conducting two programmes, one in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the second with the Dutch government, in order to facilitate the political participation of women. The first, the Political Empowerment Programme, aims at providing training to its 400 female participants; the second involves 600 women, and provides workshops on legislative institutions, the election process, and the development of leadership skills. The budget for the two initiatives is $300,000. According to UNDP training representative Galal Rashid the programme is the first of its kind in the Middle East. Egyptian women received full political rights in 1956. The exercise of those rights, however, has been hampered by social and cultural factors. "This training programme, and equivalent efforts, aim at creating an atmosphere more conducive to enabling and empowering women to participate in the decision-making process," said Rashid. The NCW, according to its Secretary- General Farkhonda Hassan, hopes that many of the 1,000 women involved in the two schemes will go on to contest the elections, expected to begin in the second half of October. In the 2000 ballot only four women candidates were elected, though President Mubarak used his constitutional prerogative to appoint a further four. Until now we over 106 public conferences were conducted all over Egypt's governorates to increase women's awareness of their political rights and to enhance their performance as parliament nominees. This time round, Hassan hopes that women will occupy at least 10 per cent of the assembly's 444 seats. "The council is stressing the importance of increasing the scope of women's participation in all walks of life, and particularly in politics," she said. Aziza Mahrous, a university professor participating in the UNDP scheme, says she joined the programme because she wanted to run in the parliamentary elections but did not know how. As well as helping women stand in the coming People's Assembly elections, the programme is also focussing on the 2006 municipal elections. "After the programme ended I knew everything I needed to about standing in the coming parliamentarian elections. Who knows, I might win the elections and become an MP," says Mahrous. The Dutch training programme is divided into theoretical and practical components. Sally El-Mahdi, manager of the project, says candidates are being lectured by professionals on skills in areas pertaining to drafting and implementing legislation, the rules and procedures guiding the election process as well as the overall election system. Their training will include developing communication skills, building effective partnerships, managing debates and seminars and interacting with constituents. The programme also seeks to enhance the social and economic literacy of women. "The council will select and support 10 female candidates among those who have been trained," says El-Mahdi. Azza Mohamed El-Qaffas, a housewife and trainee on the Netherlands programme says she was encouraged by her family "as well as by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak's call on women to participate in the coming elections as voters and candidates". Although the atmosphere is very encouraging, she says, she had expected more support -- particularly financial -- from the NCW. The NCW, however, is not allowed to offer financial support to candidates. "All the council does for them is train them and pressure different political parties to put them on their electoral lists and support them as it does male candidates," says El-Mahdi. The NCW also intends to set up information centres to direct female voters to polling stations and to organise programmes to increase the political awareness of women generally.
