This new IDS/Pathways/GIZ Working Paper by Mariz Tadros examines the nature of the political struggle over the status, role and identity of women in Egypt in between the two revolutions (January 2011 and June 2013).
It presents a situational analysis of the various actors, relations and agendas that have both informed the backlash against women’s rights and the mass movements of resistance. It acknowledges that while women’s rights have historically suffered as a consequence of a hostile political will of the ruling authority and parts of political and civil society that are inimical to expanding women’s rights (and sometimes mobilise around revoking what already exists), women’s rights faced new threats after January 2011 because of the political settlement between the Supreme Council for Armed Forces and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Politics of Mobilising for Gender Justice in Egypt from Mubarak to Morsi and Beyond
In June 2009, the Egyptian parliament passed a new quota law adding 64 additional seats, for which only women can compete in the 454-seat parliament. This project looked at the various instruments to support women's political participation in Egypt, including the National Council for Women’s political empowerment training programme, and asked how effective these have been in challenging power hierarchies and empowering women politically? …
Farah Shash, a psychologist with El Nadim Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture, argues that while the Mubarak regime used sexual violence against women demonstrators, the ruling political regime today is not only resorting to the same tactics, it is outdoing the previous regime by using organised groups in a systematic way. Shash shares accounts of victims who approached El Nadim Center for treatment; discusses the psychological impact of their experiences and talks about what her organisation and others are doing to seek justice for the victims. …