BySCEME
Egypt: women call for equal participation and full involvement in the democratic transition
Egyptian women largely and equally participated in the revolution with Egyptian men , side by side, and some of them have been imprisoned and some missing while others have sacrificed their lives, and we believe they have the right to participate in building the New Egyptian State on the simple basis of citizenship.
The current political situation is as follows for women: The Supreme Council of Egypt’s armed forces (which ensure the transition) has suspended the Constitution, dissolved the Parliament, and formed a committee to draft a new Constitution for the country. Amendments will be submitted to a popular referendum. In this perspective, specific guarantees covering women’s rights need to be written into Egypt’s new Constitution to ensure a significant women’s Parliamentary presence but also to protect them against sexual harassment and to enforce their rights.
However, no women have been appointed to participate in the constitutional committee in charge of the revision of the Constitution and the proposed amendments so far still limit their participation.
Yet there is no guarantee at this stage that women’s rights will be enforced in the New Constitution. At SCEME, we support Egyptian women in their battle for recognition and please join us in raising awareness on this issue as soon it will be too late.
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