Dina Ezzat and Amany Abdel-Moneim look into the increasing gap between the agendas of governmental and non-governmental women's rights groups It was a women's week in Cairo -- on an official level at least. Events related to women's social and political rights took place nearly every day. Most were Egypt- focussed, although some had a more regional breadth. The list of events included campaigns sponsored by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak to promote the socio-economic rights of women in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world. They also included meetings -- mostly on a smaller scale -- hosted by different groups of women activists pursuing political reform in Egypt. In both cases, the appeal was one -- the need for more women's rights, and greater public support for that cause. The differences, however, were also just as clear. The emphasis of many -- if not all -- of the official meetings was socio- economic. The First Ladies Arab Summit that was held under the umbrella of the Arab Woman Organisation, for instance, issued a long list of recommendations that covered education, health and legal rights. Gender awareness as a concept, the meeting stressed, needed to be given prominence across the Arab world. Mrs Mubarak, who headed the Egyptian delegation, said societies needed to better perceive the role of women in enhancing development. The Arab International Women's Forum Conference hosted by the Arab League promoted a similar message. More than 250 participants representing governmental and non-governmental organisations argued that the education gap and high illiteracy levels in rural areas had to be more forcefully combated. Addressing the conference, Mrs Mubarak stressed commitment to the socio- economic empowerment of rural women as a means of getting them "to fulfill their potential, and actively participate in the development of their communities", as a way of getting them to be "active agents of change and stake-holders in creating an environment conducive to peace and human security." Mrs Mubarak also said society needed to show gratitude for the efforts of rural women that are "rarely appreciated". Not far from the Tahrir Square headquarters of the Arab League, meanwhile, different groups of women were meeting to discuss ways of strengthening the new unofficial woman's movements initiated in the wake of assaults on a group of Egyptian women during the 25 May referendum on amending Article 76 of the constitution. The agenda here was far removed from that of the official conferences; these women's groups -- including National Apology and the Egyptian Mothers Association -- were discussing ways and means to ensure women's exercising their political rights without fear of harassment. The discrepancy of agendas was not unusual. For over a decade, an increasing number of women's rights organisations have been dedicating their attention and efforts to issues government-oriented bodies have chosen not to address. While the governmental side has often -- but not exclusively -- emphasised issues related to the de- feminisation of poverty, and women's legal and economic rights, the non-governmental organisations have worried more about issues related to violence against women at the hands of police and male family members. Also while governmental bodies have looked at women's reproductive rights -- especially in relation to access to family planning methods -- non-governmental organisations also spoke of women's sexual rights. There have always been, of course, issues of common interest between the two sides. The battle against female genital mutilation was initiated in the non- governmental sphere, but then promptly championed at the governmental level. The campaign to facilitate women's rights to leave broken marriages without having to beg for mercy was also a joint campaign by both governmental and non- governmental bodies. Both sides have also paid attention to issues related to women's political rights. However, with the political scene becoming increasingly complex and tense, the two sides now seem to be drifting further apart. In fact, the non-governmental groups have vocally complained about the failure of concerned governmental bodies, especially the National Council for Women (NCW), to adequately address the violations which women have been subjected to while attempting to exercise their political rights. "Where is the NCW?" asked lawyer and women's legal rights activist Safaa Mourad. "Why has the NCW failed to issue even a word of condemnation against the referendum day assault on women? Why has it let women down, while even foreign women's organisations have spoken out in solidarity with Egyptian women? Why have the official forums that have taken place since then failed to express sympathy with the assaulted women?" According to Mourad and other women activists who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly, the referendum was a good way to gauge the different priorities of women's groups in a particularly challenging political context. The result, Mourad said, is that "we are almost talking different languages. The governmental bodies may pay lip service to issues related to women's political rights, but [they do nothing] when push comes to shove." This is an accusation that representatives of the many governmental bodies vehemently deny. Close aides to Mrs Mubarak, who chairs the NCW, said she was "really and genuinely keen on catalysing all the necessary steps to encourage all Egyptian women to exercise their electoral and other political rights in a perfectly safe environment." They said that neither the NCW nor other governmental bodies that follow women's issues could be blamed for whatever violations that may have happened that day. NCW Secretary-General Farkhonda Hassan said "those who blame the NCW for failing to issue a condemnation of the unfortunate referendum day incidents are overlooking the fact that there was a statement issued by the presidency on this matter, and that as a presidency-affiliated body, the NCW did not need to issue a further statement because the presidential statement spoke for all the concerned presidential bodies." Hassan dismissed criticism of the NCW's performance on women's political issues. "The NCW has been working very hard to spread political awareness," she said, by pursuing an active campaign to encourage women to vote "for whatever political trend they want". The positive result of this campaign, Hassan said, could be seen in "the impressive women's turnout for the referendum". She said the NCW has worked "hard" on a political rehabilitation campaign that aims to train political activists, who would in turn encourage women in urban and rural areas to vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections due to take place in September and October. "I think that everybody needs to know that it is mainly due to a NCW campaign that over 1.5 million Egyptian women have issued the national number identity card which subsequently helped them issue a voting ID," Hassan said. These efforts would become clearer, she said, when millions of women proceed to vote. In the end, neither side appears to be looking for a fight. While independent and government affiliated women's rights groups may disagree on agendas, they both insist that what counts most is serving women's best interests. Ghada Abdel-Haq of the National Apology movement said, "we are not at all disputing the priority of basic issues such as education and health rights, and we understand that government bodies have spent time and effort on issues related to political rights." In any case, said Abdel-Haq, for most Egyptian men and women, "it is much more important to access adequate health care and other basic rights than to exercise political rights." However, she said, "the issues should not be mutually exclusive. Women and men alike should be able to access basic rights, and should equally be able to exercise their political rights without harassment, even if they are opposing the government."
