By Heba Afify
CAIRO: In spite of a new system allocating 64 seats in the People’s Assembly to women, the candidates are still battling stereotypes in the male-dominated political scene. But they are planning to change that once elected MPs by bringing a more compassionate view to laws and proving themselves.
Madiha Khattab, a National Democratic Party (NDP) candidate for the Cairo governorate and a member of the National Council of Women, stated that women have a deeper compassion for the problems that citizens face.
This compassion, according to Khattab, will enhance the supervisory function of the parliament and, as an added bonus, the calmer nature of women will likely decrease the intensity of the arguments that commonly take place among male MPs during parliamentary sessions.
Khattab added that the presence of women in parliament will be especially important because laws that will significantly affect women and families — such as the social health insurance law and the personal affairs law — will soon be discussed.
Abir Suleiman, independent candidate for the constituency of Daher and Azbakeya, said that a woman’s role in the parliament is equal to — if not more important than — a man’s.
“[A] woman is more able to channel the pulse of the streets to the parliament,” Suleiman said. “She is the one [who] raises the children and she is the one [who] plans the affairs of her household, which makes her capable of planning the affairs of her district.”
The women’s quota system was used in Egypt for the first time in 1979, but it was ruled unconstitutional and cancelled in 1986.
With the help of the National Council of Women, changes were made to the 2007 Constitutional Amendments in order to make the quota system constitutional, which was followed by a law passed by the parliament last February that officially reinstated the women’s quota system, awarding women 64 seats through 32 constituencies.
Mahmoud Sherif, chairman of the political participation committee in the NCW which hosted a press conference for female candidates, said that the quota system is necessary to change society’s views regarding the participation of women in politics, in addition to encouraging women to even run for the election in the first place.
Sherif stated that women’s participation was minimal in the 2005 elections because “parties wanted to win so they were nominating their most powerful men.” As a result, only four women were elected and five others were appointed.
This year, 1,009 women applied to be parliamentary candidates and 397 made the final list — 320 of these candidates are running for seats reserved under the women’s quota, and 77 are running for regular seats.
This significant difference in the number of women participating in this year’s election, when compared to the election prior, reflects a real change in society and an increase in the awareness and capacities of women, Sherif said.
He added that the quota system will significantly increase the percentage of women in the parliament, from 1.8 percent in 2005 to at least 13 percent in 2010.
Several female candidates stated that prior to the quota system it was very difficult for women to get into the parliament due to financial and cultural reasons.
Zeinab Radwan, the deputy of the People’s Assembly and an NDP candidate in the northeastern region of Cairo, said that women refrained from running in the parliamentary elections prior to the quota system because they didn’t have the financial capabilities to compete with men.
“I would have never thought about running for the parliament if it wasn’t for the quota system,” said Mariam Mikhail, who is currently running for one of the seats reserved for women. “The men in my district are spending millions of pounds in their electoral campaigns and I can’t compete [against] that.”
Many of the female candidates placed blame on the domestic role expected of women in Egyptian society, which has added to many women’s inability to compete for regular parliamentary seats.
Manal Al Attar, Al-Wafd women’s quota candidate in Helwan, said that men who don’t understand that she isn’t competing against male candidates always ask her, “Why would we leave the men and vote for you?”
Even with the women’s quota system in place, female candidates have stated that society’s perception of women still presents various obstacles.
Kariman El-Attar, an independent women’s quota candidate running in the Sixth of October governorate, had to fight tradition just to be able to run.
“I am from the Arabs of Omraneya, so our traditions dictate that the women belong in the house,” El-Attar said. “But I broke the rules and ran for parliament.”
El-Attar said that she also defied tradition by meeting with male community leaders, which women are usually not allowed to do there.
Mona Makram Ebeid, former MP and Al-Wafd quota candidate for Qalioubia, said that the traditional absence of women during her meetings with voters has shown her that society’s perception of politics as a realm exclusive to men has yet to be changed.
Samiha Abou Steit, advisor to the secretary general of the NCW, said that the women’s quota law will be in effect for only two election cycles in order to change the social view of women in politics. After the two cycles have passed and the perceptions have changed, women will be more capable of competing with men for regular parliamentary seats, according to Abou Steit.
“This is a necessary step to show the community that women can be very effective, and that their participation in the political life is vital,” Abou Steit said.
“When the women enter the parliament, prove themselves and earn the trust of the citizens, people will give them their votes in the [following] elections,” said Radwan.
“We need to repair this crisis of trust by performing satisfactorily in the parliament,” said Suleiman. “We want to prove that the period of male domination in the parliament is over.”
Ikbal El Samalouty, a quota NDP candidate in Giza and the dean of the High Institute for Social Services, stated that the meetings of female candidates with voters are effective in demonstrating women’s political abilities to society.
“Studies have shown that changing culture doesn’t come from lectures, but from practice and direct dialogue,” El-Samalouty said.
El-Samalouty added that the increased presence of female candidates will encourage female voters to participate in the elections because “they feel like one of them is running.”
Even though the female candidates believe in the benefits of the quota system, many have complained of the size of their constituencies. Many are running for seats on the level of an entire governorate or half of a governorate, whereas their counterparts who are running for regular parliamentary seats will ultimately be responsible for much smaller communities if they are elected.
The main concern these female candidates have over their large constituencies is that their considerably large size makes it difficult for the candidates to connect with the entire constituency and to meet with all of their constituency’s voters.
The female candidates all shared the belief that they shoulder a large personal responsibility to prove that the women’s quota system is beneficial through what they accomplish in the new parliament.
“The experience is not easy, and it will take more the 10 years to bear all its fruit,” Khattab stated. “It will take a generation to change [society’s] perception … of women’s political participation.”
“We have to offer something different than the males,” Hamdy said. “If women don’t succeed [in achieving] something this [election] cycle, there will be little hope for the [elections that follow].”
Muslim Brotherhood’s parliamentary candidate Bushra el-Semani (R) talks with a street vendor in Cleopatra district in Alexandria on Nov. 23. (AFP PHOTO/STR)
