Egyptian women, like others elsewhere, are still struggling to attain key positions. Reem Leila attended an international conference studying solutions, if any The focus on women's participation and leadership roles in education, science, politics, economics and technology paralleled the timeline of work for women's quality and development. Egyptian women will be extremely unique should they receive the appropriate learning, education and training to undertake the responsibilities and play the required roles of society. To explore this issue, it is essential to develop a clear situation analysis and guidelines for a supportive and enabling environment for women in leadership positions. It is for this reason that the National Council for Women (NCW) chose to focus on these issues during its three-day international conference "Women, Leadership and Social Justice: Sharing Experiences" held under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, head of the NCW. The conference provided a valuable forum for informative debate and discussion of women in leadership within the framework of social justice. During the conference which began on 14 March, a series of workshops were convened to showcase international experiences and models in related areas, while directing the spotlight on the Egyptian experience in particular as well as the value of women in leadership, and its effectiveness on promoting concepts of justice and true democracy. Mrs Mubarak headed the conference on 16 March coinciding with the national day of Egyptian women. Mrs Mubarak addressed the Egyptian community on this occasion, which included a closed roundtable meeting held to hear a report detailing the activities of the first and second days of the NCW's ninth national and first international conference in Egypt. Mrs Mubarak pointed out while addressing the conference that "Egyptian women managed to hold several leading posts in all domains of public life." According to Mrs Mubarak, the struggle of the Egyptian woman in the modern era was a reflection of a unique civilisation in which women made the connection between their fight to assert their rights and the issues of their home and its development. 16 March will remain a landmark for Egyptian women. On that day, they took to the streets to participate in the 1919 Revolution in protest against the banishing of the then female leaders of the nation. Since that day, "Egyptian women decided to be a part of the national movement given that their stands have been a symbol of sacrifice and dedication plus being a good example for persistence in realising their goals," Mrs Mubarak said. The struggle of the Egyptian woman has continued, despite registering great gains in education, economic and political activity. She has also joined new workfields and occupied leading positions in this regard. She has become a minister, parliament member, ambassador, president of a private university, businesswoman and judge. According to Farkhonda Hassan, NCW's secretary-general, with the council's continued and strenuous efforts exerted in the field of women's education, the spread of culture, training programmes and providing healthcare, "we have been keen on providing all support so that women's capabilities and potentials can unfold in the service and development of her community," said Hassan. The political leadership in turn has responded to the community as a number of important legislation for women and the community has been issued, including the simplification of measures in personal status affairs, family courts law, amending citizenship and a new law for non-governmental organisations and the establishing of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR). The perception of the Egyptian community towards women has changed as the issues of women rank top of the priorities of the nation while serving as a basic component in the state's plans for comprehensive development. "With the achievements in hand, we still have to work to confront more challenges because the political participation of women has not reached its due position yet," said Mrs Mubarak, while maintaining that women's participation in all domains of life should be increased to meet the demands of development in society. "The future we aspire to makes it necessary to undertake due responsibilities for realising social justice and equality. We do believe in tomorrow given that our optimism emanates from our belief in the Egyptian woman," added Mrs Mubarak. The conference's conclusions were similar to the much more daring findings on the status of women, not only in Egypt but across the world. The situation of women in Egypt and the world as well has been changing over time, often for the better, yet many continue to struggle for fair treatment. Shirley Malcom, head of the Directorate of Education and Human Resources Programmes of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, argued that "the rise of women all over the world cannot take place in isolation from the rise of their societies", and "requires a complex, comprehensive review of frameworks of thought and behaviour at all levels." Above all, "the rise of women must go beyond a merely symbolic makeover that permits a few distinguished women to ascend to positions of leadership in state institutions, notwithstanding the value and importance of this. Rather, it must extend to the empowerment of the broad masses of women in their entirety," Malcom argued. Women's empowerment is essentially about enabling them to develop their skills and capabilities and consequently making use of these capabilities in their own interests and those of society in general. Malcom said "supporting the advance of women transcends righting wrongs. Directly and indirectly, it concerns the well-being of the entire world." NG Yen Yen, the Malaysian minister of women, family and community development, said active and independent women's and societal movements are the two main pillars necessary for the rise of women. In other words, women alone cannot achieve this mission; societies have to help them. For both women and societies to be able to follow a path of real emancipation, Yen argued, both societies and women need to enjoy authentic political and economic freedom. So while Yen emphasised the need for all women to be granted full and genuine opportunities, she also stressed the need for societies themselves to acquire full freedom. "The rise of women in Egypt or any part of the world cannot take place in isolation from the rise of their societies," Yen said. The elimination of the roots of discrimination against women in cultural life is essential. The realisation of women's full potential, and indeed aspirations, and the establishment of true gender equality is not a Western agenda, and that indeed it has to be a home-grown product. The government should start with amending laws that discriminate against women, consulting with women's groups and civil society at large and fulfilling the stipulations of the constitution regarding facilitating the combination of both productive and reproductive roles. "There are important positions that women are deprived of such as governors and presidents of government universities, and the government should open them up without hesitation. It should also control religious fundamentalism, preventing the media from spreading misconceptions that result in the subordination of women," stated Hassan. "The battle for reform, democracy and good governance remains essentially a human rights battle."
