Egypt

Egyptian women played a critical role in the revolutionary protests that brought down former president Hosni Mubarak last month. But as Egypt transitions toward a new government, questions are being raised about whether women will gain a stronger role in politics.

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Countless women actively participated in the 25 January revolution, which seemed to signal a major shift in women’s role in Egyptian society. But activists say there is still a long way to go toward eradicating gender inequality, starting with Egypt's Constitution. The 1971 Egyptian Constitution, currently suspended, includes articles that ostensibly ensure equality and outlaw discrimination based on gender, ethnic origin, language, religion or belief.

About a month after Egypt’s protests, hundreds of Egyptian women returned to Cairo’s Tahrir Square to rally for equal rights and an end to rampant sexual harassment. They were attacked by men shouting at them to go home where they belong, and at least 18 women were arrested. Host Liane Hansen speaks to Mona Makram-Ebeid, a professor of political science at the American University of Cairo and a former member of the Egyptian Parliament, about the political role of women in post-Mubarak Egypt.

An Egyptian women's rights activist said she received a death threat because of a statement she made about the consequences of canceling the law that gives women the right to initiate divorce. On 14 April, Abul Komsan told Al-Masry Al-Youm that canceling the khul, the law that gives women the right to divorce their husbands, would be a major setback for women's rights in Egypt. Egypt adopted a form of the Islamic law in 2000.

A new law on political rights approved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces would deny Egyptian expatriates the right to vote and remove the quota for women in parliament, a senior military source said. Despite a previous proposal to allow expatriates to vote in elections, a final form of the law has been approved by the ruling military council and handed to the interim cabinet, the source said. The details of the law will be announced at a press conference Saturday.

The cancellation of Women's Quota without alternative legal methods that guarantee women's political participation is pushing women back to the zero point

16 Mar 2012 - The Arab Spring continues to blow winds of change in the Middle East. There is no doubt the direction these countries are heading in will affect Arab societies and personal rights. But recently, the focus has been on women in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.