Egyptian Women Today

National Council for Women:Today I interviewed Dr. Nagla El Adli, General Manager of Studies and Research at the National Council for Women (NCW). She has her Ph.D. from Cairo University and began work at the council in 2000. 15 Mohamed Hafiz Street in Mohandeseen is a new office; since the old location was in the headquarters of the National Democratic Party, next to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, and was burned during the revolution. The area is busy but has a few quieter, tree-lined streets. I actually felt a breeze in the shade, where I waited as I was a few minutes early. The council's 30-member advisory body has a completely new membership since the revolution. The new president is Ambassador (and a former minister) Mervat Salawy. The other staff remains the same. One of the main projects of the council is sexual harassment, which was on the agenda before the revolution but moved to the forefront in the turbulence during and after the unrest. She stated that my dress and walking alone is tolerated because I'm a foreigner. She, however, never goes out alone even in the city of New Cairo where she lives, which consists of individual villas and not apartment buildings. She also wears a long skirt (with a blazer) and a headscarf. Her daughters don't want to wear the headscarf (hijab) and occasionally hear taunts; they tend to dress according to which neighborhood they're planning to be in. She asked if I was wearing my scarf in case I wanted to cover my head. I asked Dr. Adli what Westerners understand least about women and Egyptian society. She identified two aspects: 1) How important an Egyptian's faith (regardless of which monotheistic religion) is to a person's outlook. Egyptians feel a person has to be grounded in a religious worldview, to profess something; and it's very much a part of them. 2) The importance of family. The relationships (especially emotional) between parents and children are very, very strong. They would never send their unmarried children off on their own. Her daughters are in their twenties and at home. She keeps in close touch with throughout the day by mobile and will still travel long distances to pick them up or help them out in some way. The National Council for Women supports Al Azhar University (the oldest Islamic university in the world) as an institution having a role in interpreting the Qur'an and its place in society. The Constituent Assembly wants to include this in the Constitution; and the NCW currently isn't against it. Maybe it's because most of its officials have been appointed by the previous secular government. I would think this could change.

Dr. Hoda Rashad, American University in Cairo: Dr. Rashad is Research Professor and Director of the Social Research Center (SSC) at AUC. She received her Ph.D. in Demography from the London School of Economics and worked at Cairo University and various international organizations before she came to the SSC. I interviewed her over the phone, since the campus is a long way from downtown. She feels the West focuses too much on the injustices and discrimination faced by Muslim women and not enough on how 1) their socio-economic circumstances could be improved and the fact that 2) some rights could be gained through Islam itself. She said that the right for women to divorce on their own (khula) was gained for women in Egypt by stressing that the prerogative was part of Islam itself but never put into practice. Even in Iran, she said, women gained benefits (even if they do have to veil) by drawing upon their religious tradition to gain them. Not to be misunderstood, she would prefer that rights for women be argued within a human rights rather than a religious framework; but until the time a majority of the public can accept this, these other means may be utilized. She also says that 3) the Islamist label is a drawback. Westerners need to distinguish between extremists and mainstream interpretations of Islam and that rights for women can be drawn from the religion itself. She says even many Egyptian women are ignorant of how they could use Islam to promote their rights. Dr. Rashad has long been connected to women's issues in service outside the center, although no longer on the National Council for Women since the revolution. The country's more conservative leadership reflects a societal mindset, she maintains, that has come to see its day in the sun. While the government before January 25 had been advocating a public role for women, encouraged by Western supporters, many women didn't feel it had any impact on their daily lives. The new regime may support women's social and economic needs as part of a renaissance project to build a new Egypt; but it will not make women's presence in pubic a priority. It basically supports patriarchy; and a division of roles between the sexes is acceptable to many in Egypt. The National Council for Women will probably continue as a body. Yet, it is an advisory body. The will and commitment to carry out its recommendations will be lacking. The NCW, formerly headed by Suzanne Mubarak, no longer has any political clout. Since the revolution, the public seems more open to the subject of sexual harassment. This may be part of the general concern with security; and women's safety is part of this. Civil society groups, composed of young people pushing for change, have managed to bring the subject to the forefront. She feels that the Muslim Brotherhood should be given a chance to govern but has worries. The Brotherhood itself does not operate as a democratic organization. Women's agenda will stagnate. There may be some improvement in social services for all but not a concern for women's rights in particular. Mohandeseen: I saw covered and uncovered women, women wearing slacks as well as long skirts, outside the National Council for Women, which is near the Ministry of Agriculture. The photo pictures a young woman picking up her takeout lunch at a fast food cart. Nonetheless, all of them were probably operating within the purview of family, society, and religion. The concept of "being an individual" isn't readily understood.