Activists defending women said the deteriorating status of women in Egypt was caused by the ruling regime that has marginalized their role, pointing out that the status of women 30 years ago was better than now. In a seminar at Prince Taz Palace on Saturday entitled ‘A Women's Legislative Agenda and Issues in Egyptian Society' the activists said women's issues cannot be separated from society because they are linked to democracy, which is absent in Egypt. Nazly el-Sherbini, member of the Legislative Committee of the National Council for Women, said the women's political situation has deteriorated in the last two decades, which necessitated increasing women's representation in parliament by allocating 44 seats for them. Yet some say this is unconstitutional. She said the best solution for women is that political parties nominate a certain percentage of their female members for the elections. She also called for addressing the bullying and the bribery that take place during elections, and for putting a ceiling for campaign financing. Farida el-Naqash, editor of Al-Ahali newspaper, said the deteriorating situation of women was caused by policies that have marginalized the roles of many interest groups in society, including women. She called for bringing the regime to trial. Naqash added: “The talk about increasing women's political participation was due to the ruling party looking for a formula that increases its women's representation in parliament. But the best solution is to develop comprehensive policies, because women are not isolated from society. If their conditions deteriorate, the whole society will deteriorate.” Kamelia Shoukri, member of the Wafd Party, said the deteriorating situation of women harms Egypt's image internationally, pointing out that the ratio of women's participation in the European Parliament is 17.2%, in Arab countries 12% and in Africa 7%, while in Egypt it only increased from 1% to 2% after the appointment of a number of female deputies. Azza Suleiman, director of the Center for Women's Issues, blamed the regime and absolved the people and the political parties. She said women's access to seats in parliament is not enough, calling for a real and effective role in politics.
