More than ever before, the new parliament reserved 64 seats for women, Reem Leila explores the prospects Women scored an impressive political victory during the parliamentary elections after 64 seats were reserved solely for the opposite sex as per a new quota system. Theoretically, and according to the Egyptian constitution, women have the right to run for parliament but practically this was not always the case. Most political parties previously refrained from nominating female candidates in the elections, whether for the Shura Council or the People's Assembly. Women would enter either chamber only after being appointed by President Hosni Mubarak. This year the situation changed dramatically after an initiative put forward jointly by the National Council for Women (NCW) chaired by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, and the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). A women's quota was introduced after being suspended following an initial 10-year run from 1979 upon the proposal of then first lady Gihan El-Sadat. The quota has since more than doubled -- from 30 to 64 seats. Above all, the quota has been firmly enshrined in the constitution and in relevant parliamentary regulations after it was passed by the PA in June 2009. The system significantly increased the percentage of women in parliament, from 1.8 per cent in 2005 to 12 per cent in 2010. The increase is in line with quotas for women in parliament which has been applied in more than 70 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America to improve the capacity and competency of women in decision-making fields. According to the new regulations in Egypt, two seats are to be reserved for women representing 25 governorates. This year there were 469 women contesting the elections, included among 5,725 candidates overall vying for 454 regular seats and the 64 additional seats reserved for women. The parliament this year saw 62 elected female MPs in addition to one female appointee, Amina Shafiq, the veteran writer at the daily Al-Ahram. The quota created fierce competition, with potential candidates teeming to get on the ruling party's ballot. The NDP won 62 seats of the quota, thus gaining the majority of women-only seats. "The quota system was a great victory for women after long years regarding parliamentary representation," NCW Secretary- General Farkhonda Hassan said. The parliamentary result, though, did not agree with all female candidates who according to the quota system ran as independents or were affiliated to opposition parties. None of the opposition's female candidates or independents won a single seat reserved for women, with many describing the 62-seat quota won by the ruling NDP as a good example of how the NDP guaranteed additional seats in the PA. "The ruling party is good at one thing in particular -- finding ways to stay in power. I believe we have to look at gender quotas as part of a larger strategy," said Manal Abul-Hassan, a professor of mass media at Al-Azhar University and an associate of the outlawed but popular Muslim Brotherhood. Abul-Hassan, who lost after running as an independent, believes the quota system was a way for the regime to curry favour with Egypt's liberal, secular elite and the international community without changing conservative attitudes on the ground or relinquishing political control. "All women who won seats were NDP candidates," Abul- Hassan pointed out. Zeinab Radwan, the PA's deputy speaker who won in the elections, believes the presence of more women parliamentarians is highly significant. "It is not a matter of supporting only pro-women legislation but includes the perspectives of women in all legislation. We are taking the long road to fairer representation," Radwan said. To many, the quota system did not necessarily make for a female-friendly institution. Due to engrained sexism and political pessimism in Egypt, it may end up creating a worse situation for female candidates. "The quota doesn't get to the root of the problem, which is that the culture in Egypt is not supportive of active participation of women," said Azza Suleiman, a lawyer who ran for the parliamentary elections as an independent according to the quota system but lost. "That's why when there are free and fair elections, people in the Arab countries don't vote for women," added Suleiman. Hoda Badran, head of the Cairo-based Alliance for Arab Women (AAW), believes the quota will ensure more representation for women in the PA, hopefully enough to have a positive influence. "Women's political participation is critical to addressing key developmental issues," Badran said. "What really matters now is the type of women who have been elected to parliament's 64 seats. They must learn how to set a good example for other women."
