Very few female candidates ran in the nation’s parliamentary elections and even fewer have been elected: 10 took the oath last Monday.

Eight women elected and two appointed women make up less than two percent of the 508 seats in the powerful lower house of parliament. Considering the proportion of women who applied, the chances weren’t big. In the capital for example, only 80 women ran compared to 1,010 men.

Echoing the concern that parties were playing politics early on was Omaima Kamel, one of the newly elected parliament members under the Freedom and Justice Party. “Women are put to fulfill criteria on the list,” she said, explaining that parties were worried women won’t have a positive impact on the lists in terms of attracting voters.