Mervat Al Tellawi, Head of the National Council for Women (NCW), held a workshop Monday December 29th 2014 at the Pyramisa Hotel to educate and encourage women's participation and representation in the upcoming Egyptian parliamentary elections. In her opening speech, Mervat Al Tallawi praised the role of Egyptian women during the latest constitutional and presidential elections, as their outstanding participation in the electoral process made a real difference in elections outcomes. She stated that, after both January 25th and June 30th revolutions, women in Egypt started to care deeply about the well fare of the country and to want to take part in the political process underway. "Egyptian women are more liberated to participate in the political life. 24 million women are eligible to vote, about 53% of the total voting power. Such a number could positively change the political scene" she said. Tallawi put a hamper on this optimistic outlook saying that although women's votes have increased their actual representation in elections is still relatively weak. She encouraged women to run for the next parliamentary elections or to support participating women no matter what the end result. "Women will be keen to discuss important topics directly affecting Egyptian families like education, health, inflation rates", she added, urging political parties to give full opportunity for women to take part in the 2015 elections. Women will be allocated 70 seats in the next parliament, 48 will run individually and 14 will be directly appointed by President Al Sisi. "The percentage of women in the 2010 parliament was of 1 to 2 % without any significant role. It has now reached 9 to 10 %, a figure that is expected to increase in the coming years if their contribution proves effective", Fatma Khafagi, Member of the Alliance for Arab Women, told Al Bawaba English. To achieve a stronger, more competent female representation, candidates were chosen to be coached in a training program, organized by NCW called "Egyptian woman: step towards 2015 parliament". The council's four-day program approached challenges facing women on the Egyptian political scene, methods of boosting their confidence to gain the public's trust as well as means to develop the candidates' communication skills. "It's been a long process to choose qualified women among 280 participants of all ages and from all across the country" said Safaa Habib, person in-charge of the Political file at NCW. Training women on political matters is essential for their future in the field as they lack the necessary knowledge and experience not having been sufficiently part of the political arena in years past. "Women made a substantial leap on the political scene, which will lead to a more balanced role for both men and women in society. I feel that women will face challenges due to the general social confusion right now. The cost of political campaigns is one of them. And it still isn't monitored by the government ", Ghada Loutfy, training consultant at the Egyptian Center for Women Rights (ECWR) told Al Bawaba English. The workshop was also attended by public figures from the media, political parties, activists and society icons. Dr. Refaat Al Said, head of Al Tagamou Progressive Party also gave a speech emphasizing the importance of female representation in politics and admiring their role in the Egyptian political life in the past three years. Egyptian women have always been politically active, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when they were involved in nationalist movements and began to publish their own magazines and create their own parties. It's about time they reclaimed their rightful place in the country's major political processes.
