CAIRO: When Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was officially declared Egypt's new president on Sunday, it marked the beginning of Egypt's first term under a democratically elected president. The news of Morsi's victory was received with joy by ecstatic crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square, some of it genuine elation with Morsi's win, but also Egyptians expressing their relief that the old regime's candidate Ahmed Shafiq did not win. At last, at least, the end of Mubarak's system. However, the good news might very well turn out to be less positive for women in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood's brand of political Islam concerns women's rights activist Dalia Ziada, who says she found Morsi portraying himself as a candidate of the revolution “offensive.” To Ziada, in many areas their values are not reconcilable. Recognized by Time Magazine and Newsweek for her advocacy work on behalf of women in the region, Ziada works in the Cairo suburb of Mokattam. From here her work focuses on human rights, especially women's rights and the development of civil society and democracy in Egypt. "It disappointed me," she says, of finding herself, now 18 months after the revolution, to be governed by the Muslim Brotherhood, "but I'm thinking practically now." If the new regime in itself is not good news, at least the way it came about, democratically, is cause for optimism. "We have made mistakes this time – I do think electing a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood is a big mistake. But we should accept it, learn from it, so in the future we will be more cautious. It is a privilege to be able to choose who will represent you, who will be your president. And, I think, the best thing about democracy, is that it fixes itself. I'm discouraged, yes, but I'm hopeful,” she admits. A blogger, Ziada wrote about the revolution, as she experienced it. She now says that Egypt exchanged "an autocracy for a theocracy." Looking back, does she as revolutionary have any regrets? "No. I don't regret the revolution. Some people say 'no you have to regret it, we should have kept Mubarak, he is better than the Muslim Brotherhood.' And okay, Mubarak is better, but he is still a dictator! He was still corrupt, stealing from us, torturing us. He still did horrible things. Why should we accept the less bad of two bad choices? We shouldn't, we should accept only the best,” she continues. "Women in Egypt have been suffering from patriarchal oppression for years. But the difference now is that Islamism is on the rise. Political Islam definitely supports the patriarchal mentality against women. So women are at risk. And before, under Mubarak, we we were trying to challenge this mentality from a civil perspective, which allows dissent. But now it will be different. Because if you try to challenge the same political mentality, but covered with Islamism – you'll be challenging God. So it's much more difficult. That's why we are so scared," she argues. "I really hope the Muslim Brotherhood proves me wrong, but from what I know of their history …" she shrugs. So now Ziada is focusing on helping to structure the revolutionary movement. The Ibn Khaldun Center for Development – of which she is the director – has initiated a “Political Academy,” teaching young revolutionaries new skills needed in a democratic, multi-party system. "We had the passion, but we didn't have the experience with politics," she says of the revolutionaries, "We were learning how to bring down a country, not how build one up." "Now we are trying to plan, to empower a third wave of politics in Egypt. To me, this is all about the revolutionaries, both men and women. We are figuring out how to turn them into politicians, so one day they will part of the decision-making process. Hopefully in five years from now, they'll become Members of Parliament, they'll be able to run for office – even for presidency." Even though Morsi might not be the president to empower Egyptian women, the revolutionary experience has. Now they just need to get organized. The system, Ziada says, is ‘still the same.” The political culture around it though, has changed dramatically. "I'm very worried that they will be taking away my freedom, though I also believe that I can stop them. As a revolutionary I put down Mubarak, you know?" "It's a patriarchal culture, of course. It is everywhere, this mentality. But in terms of women, I believe that if you change the system, you can change the status quo," she says. Interestingly, for an activist, she continues, "The change has to come from the top down, not from the grassroots. The policies have to come from the government. If you want to tell the society that its women are equal to men, then its policies have to reflect that." Ultimately, Ziada says, Egyptian women hope for lasting stability and security. There is also a large group, in which young people are particularly active, aiming to widen the opportunities for political participation. "We are hoping for women to have genuine access to positions, to be in government, to be Ministers, to be President. "You know, in 10 years I plan to run for president. For nothing, except to show the world that a woman can make it."
