In a country in which the law itself is an enemy of women’s rights, I cannot begin to say how happy I am that the country is starting to realize the importance of Egyptian women and has dedicated ONE WHOLE YEAR for our well-being. I mean, one year is a very long time if you ask me; especially with such few issues needing to be addressed when it comes to the status of Egyptian women! I wonder, if we try to crunch down the number of issues that require immediate action for the duration of 12 months only, how many will we actually be able to resolve?
In November 2013, a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey ranked Egypt as the worst of 22 Arab states with regards to women’s rights.
1. Sexual harassment:
According to recent statics, 99% of Egyptian women have experienced sexual harassment in their life. I am not sure what happened to the remaining 1% but I would have to bet that they may have encountered similar behavior but elected not to share it. Let’s make 2017 the year to brutally punish any loser who attempts to trespass the privacy and sacredness of women’s freedom to walk the streets whenever and however she decides! Because, if we do not get sexual harassment out of the way, how will the roadmap for Egyptian women ever allow us to grow if we are afraid?
2. Parliamentary representation:
15%! Only about 15% of parliamentary members in Egypt are women. Because, of course if you conduct a population analysis of women in the society that would be the percentage… We are obviously only 15% of the society peeps, we are now on our way to becoming extinct and I think it is really important for us to try and clone our species before we become obsolete!
Women need more representation in parliament. Fair representation of all socio-economic classes to raise issues and solutions across the board in a democratic context!
3. Divorce Rights:
In the aftermath of the draft law to change child custody if the divorced mother remarries and the fact that most divorced women do not have any real financial support from their ex-husbands, where are these courageous women headed? I have personally been exposed to a trick that some dishonest men do: they obtain a false salary letter stating an incorrect salary (like 10% of what they actually make) so they can bail out of paying a decent amount of alimony! Where is the law that demands the bank to submit a complete 12 months’ pay proof to court?
4. Marriage age:
10% of Egyptian women are married between the ages of 15-19. Heartbreaking I know! What laws are currently governing this and how can we get past the mindset of women being regarded as passive-beings in certain rural areas to the point where their opinion is not even considered within that form of young-age abuse?
5. Femalegenital mutilation (FGM):
That’s a big one, no? According to a 2013 UNICEF report covering 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East, Egypt has the region’s highest total number of women that have undergone FGM (27.2 million). I needn’t elaborate more, do I?
6: Women’s Economic Empowerment:
Women’s participation in the Egyptian labor market is among the lowest in the world. Young women (aged 18-29) represent 18.5% of the total Egyptian workforce compared to over 50% representation of young men. The unemployment rate among females in 2015 was at 24%, compared to 12.8% among males.
I would not say that the challenges faced by women in Egypt are larger than the government, they are just way larger than one year! We need to integrate the reformation in our DNA for the rest of our lives and for any year and any government. The degree to which any community is evolved is measured by the extent to which it respects its women!
Regina Inani is an HR Guru & Mother. Find her on Instagram @Ginainani
(Sources: U.N. Women, UNICEF, World Bank)
