CAIRO: Neither the Islamist nor liberal parties fielded a significant number of female candidates on their lists in the recently held parliamentary elections, a report revealed. The report, issued by a program at Nazra for Feminist Studies, showed that the average Islamist party list was made up of 16 percent female candidates, while “civil” parties — often considered more liberal — averaged 17.5 percent women on their lists. In its report, Nazra's Academy for Women's Political Participation program investigates why so few women were successful in their bid for parliament and explains how few women ran in the first place. The report “She and Elections,” details which party supported how many female candidates. It divided electoral blocs and coalitions in these elections into four divisions: list coalitions composed largely of Islamist parties, list coalitions composed largely of civil parties, lists composed of the remnants of the disbanded National Democratic Party, and lists composed largely of ideologically undefined parties. The report stated that some parties represented women much better. The candidates from both the Revolution Guard Party and Al-Ahrar Party were half women. The Human Rights and Citizenship Party came in third with the most women on their list at 30 percent. The parties with the lowest percentage of female candidates included the Egyptian Voice with 10 percent, the Egyptian Justice and Development Party with 11 percent and the Egyptian Social Democratic Party with a mere 13 percent. The report found that no group of political parties (be it Islamist, civil or otherwise) had female candidates placed high on the party lists. Only eight female candidates running under a party were elected. They join two appointed female parliamentarians, making up less than 2 percent of parliament. No women running as independent candidates were elected. During the election, the Academy for Women's Political Participation program gave political support services to 16 “less-empowered” female candidates. Of those 16, only Sanaa Said was successful. Said was placed second on the list in the Assiut second district for the Egyptian Social Democratic Party because of her long established popularity and experience in politics. Said was one of the few women whose name held a high spot on an election ballot. The vast majority of women were placed low on the list. The report stated this was the case, “although some female candidates were more capable and proficient than the male candidates placed at the top of the list.” The report also speculated that one reason the female candidates lost the race was because most did not maintain a permanent, paid campaign staff. Female candidates' campaign activities were canceled more often than male candidates' because inexperienced campaign staff were unable to handle security issues, the report said. The minimal campaign support provided by parties was given to the male candidates at the top of the party lists, it added. For those women who ran, having a husband on the campaign team made a big difference. The newly published report read, “This portrayed the candidate as first and foremost a successful homemaker who entered politics with the consent and encouragement of her husband, thus boosting her legitimacy, especially in rural areas.” During the election process, the Academy for Women's Political Participation program suggested unmarried female candidates have either a brother, father or mother help with their campaigns. Another issue raised in the report was means by which the female candidates could market themselves. Voters do not respond well to female candidates talking about their feminism being a positive, electable trait, the report said, so the candidates had to strike a balance between raising women's issues and simply being a very strong candidate for parliament, not as a woman, but as a human being. To combat the low participation and representation of female candidates in the future, the Academy for Women's Political Participation program suggests political parties begin preening female candidates immediately after the Shoura Council elections. The report also recommends that the parties law mandate that women be placed in the first, second, or third position on party lists. It also urges parties to support the campaigns of their female candidates, providing them with a professional campaign team. Finally, the report suggested that districts be redrawn and made smaller since the “relatively large electoral districts, particularly in individual constituencies, showed that the individual candidate system … is not friendly to women or minorities.”
