(File Photo)
(Photo By: Mohamed Omar )
In a press conference on Sunday, the National Salvation Front (NSF) announced the establishment of a permanent committee tasked with defending women’s rights.
It also said that it will not attend the presidential initiative on women’s rights which was launched on Saturday.
“We turned down the presidency’s invitation because we are tired of empty talk about women’s rights,” said Aneesa Hassouna, Al-Dostour party representative, during the press conference. “The problem is how to change women’s mentalities on how to realise their rights.”
Representatives from the National Council for Women (NCW) criticised the presidency’s initiative during the press conference. NCW member Nevine Mosaad stated that most NCW members are also boycotting the initiative.
The initiative is expected to hold workshops and training sessions for women and attempt to understand the problems they face, Mosaad said. “That is exactly the NCW’s job,” she said. “If the presidency’s aim is to improve women’s rights, then why wasn’t this initiative discussed with the NCW before its launch?”
Mosaad stated that the presidency is trying to create a parallel entity to the NCW. Karima Al-Hefnawi, the Socialist Party leader, called for the NCW to be replaced with a national popular council for women.
“I greatly appreciate all the efforts exerted by the NCW,” Al-Hefnawi said. “But at the end of the day, it remains a state-affiliated council.”
The speakers at the press conference also discussed the United Nations’ Declaration on Violence against Women. Fatma Khafagi, an NCW member who was among the Egyptian delegation which attended the UN’s 57th Commission on the Status of Women and drafted the declaration, stated that the NCW representatives considered withdrawing from the delegation when they found out that presidential representative Pakinam Al-Sharkawi would lead the delegation.
“We decided to stay, because Al-Sharkawi was only going to stay for 24 hours, and we didn’t want to leave negotiations over the declaration to Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN,” said Khafagi.
Khafagi accused the state of attempting to increase Muslim Brotherhood control of women’s issues. “During her short stay, Al-Sharkawi added Egypt to a cross-regional coalition of 17 countries which all share a regressive stance towards women’s issues,” said Khafagi. “We also felt an inclination from Egypt’s permanent representative towards voting against the declaration.”
Mosaad stated that the Egyptian delegation had broken ties with the cross-regional alliance and joined the African Bloc.
Al-Hefnawi stated that the articles which the Muslim Brotherhood rejected were removed from the declaration before it was voted on. “What are they rejecting, then?” she asked. “They are just trying to escape from an international declaration which would bind them to respect women’s rights.”
The NSF released a statement at the end of the press conference condemning violent physical attacks against women. It also criticised the “purposeful marginalisation” of national mechanisms defending women’s rights and their replacement by parallel government-controlled initiatives. The NSF also condemned calls to disregard international treaties and conventions signed by Egypt which protect women’s rights.
