IFES hosted a conference on the inclusion of women in politics in Cairo, Egypt. "The Introduction of Women's Quota in the Parliament 2010: Perception & Implementation" was held on January 13, 2011, at the Supreme Council for Culture Opera House. The goal of the conference was to hear the testimony of women who participated in People’s Assembly (PA) election under the quota and analyze the quota’s impact on the daily lives of Egyptians.
Dr. Hoda Badran of the Arab Alliance for Women (AAW) delivered the opening speech of the conference. IFES consultant Charles Lasham and Dr. Amr Hamzawy from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace also said a few words at the beginning of the event.
The women’s quota reserves 64 seats for female candidates in People’s Assembly elections. The candidates compete for two seats in each of the 29 governorates, plus an additional two seats for Cairo, Sohag and Daqahliyah. This quota, which was enacted for the first time in Egypt during the 2010 election, has been regarded as a very positive development for democracy and women’s rights in Egypt, yet it has not been without controversy.
One of the conference’s sessions featured the testimonies of four women who were elected to the Assembly. Each female candidate spoke about her personal experience in the nomination process, the support she received and the obstacles she faced. The session was moderated by the first female Egyptian judge Tahani Elgibaly. The main speakers during this session were National Democratic Party PA Member Hayat Abdoun, former Tagamu Party Member Suhair Abdelzahir, who withdrew from the race, Wafd Party PA Member Magda Elnowaishy, and Dr. Azza Kamel of the nongovernmental organization Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development.
Another session addressed recent reports by civil society organizations on women’s rights, election monitoring and the women’s quota. The speakers in this session were Nihad Abou El Komsan, head of the Egyptian Center for Women Rights; Mohamed Zaree of Nazra, a research organization devoted to feminist studies and women’s rights; Dr. Ali Alsawi of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University; and Dr. Amr Hamzawy from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The session was moderated by Dr. Ahmed Kamal Abou el Magd, the former youth and information minister who also was a former commissioner in the Egyptian government.
Approximately 140 participants representing academia, civil society, media and government took part in the conference. Ambassador Birgitta Holst Alani, director general of the Swedish Institute in Alexandria, and Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative Nagla Mostafa of USAID also were present.
This event was covered by media including the Nile TV channel.