The Struggle for Freedom Suffered By the Women of Egypt - Essay Example

The Struggle for Freedom Suffered By the Women of Egypt The Struggle for Freedom Suffered By the Women of Egypt Historically, women have often played a significant role in the fighting for their rights and freedom in Egypt. The role of women in the governance of Egypt dates back to the Pharaonic period when Queen Hatshepsut reigned Egypt from 1479 up to 1457B.C ("History of women in Egyptian life" 2011). Ever since, the role of women in the fight for freedom in Egypt cannot be overlooked at all. This paper therefore looks at the struggle for freedom by the women of Egypt. To begin with it is worth noting that women have played different roles in the struggle for freedom in Egypt. Their struggle has however been perpetuated by other underlying factors such as the modernization of Egypt. Thus, with the inception of the modern state under the reign of Mohammed Ali, there were calls to have women access education and other rights such political representation. During the 1919 revolution in Egypt, the role of women was also evident. For instance, women staged a variety of demonstrations. Indeed, two Egyptian women were shot dead by British forces1. The women participated in nationwide marches, protests and strikes against the British colonial administration. Subsequently, there was the rise of feminist activism such as the Egyptian Feminist Union in 1923, which was aimed at advocating for the rights of women, equal educational opportunities as well as expansion in professional opportunities for women. The role of women activist groups in the fight of women freedom in Egypt is self evident. Thus, the period of the 1940 marked a period when a plethora of women movements emerged and spread into different places. The most prominent activist for women freedom with regards to intellectual development include: Qasim Amin, Muhammad Abdu as well as Gamal al-Din al-Afghani2. They spearheaded a variety of movements which advocated for the rights of women in Egypt. Later on in 1948, Doria Shafik formed another feminist movement known as Bint El-Nil whose primary aim was to advocate for the political rights of women. Also, the movement was aimed at promoting literacy among women, improve health and other social services especially among the poor, as well as improving mother and health care. Other women movement formed include the “Ladies of the salon’ which was formed by Princess Chevikar, the Lagnat al- Shabaat which was established by Inji Aflatoun and Ceza Nabarawi and the Muslim Women’s Society founded by Zeinab Al-Ghazali3. However, most of these movements were suppressed when Gamal Abdel Nasser assumed power in 1952. He instituted a myriad of restrictions against such political movements. As such, the state took control of most of the women’s affairs and transformed them into welfare issues. Thus, the Ministry of Social Affairs was mandated the responsibility of looking into women’s affairs. Nonetheless, the position of women in the society during Abdel Nasser’s reign underwent drastic changes. This can be attributed to the increased government commitment towards social egalitarianism. Women were therefore given increased freedoms and rights. Their educational as well as occupational opportunities were also escalated to large extents. The fight for freedom by the Egyptian women intensified even further when they formed the first women political party in 1942. The party was named Egyptian Feminist Party and its primary aim was to amend the incumbent electoral law so as to allow women to vote and also have representation in the local and representative councils. A milestone in the fight for freedom by women was observed in the implementation of the 1956 constitution which advocated for the equality among all Egyptians notwithstanding their gender. Moreover, the labor laws were revised so as to guarantee employment for any qualified person irrespective of gender. In the same year, Egypt granted women the long-fought-for right to vote as well as run for any political office. Also, the Egyptian educational system was transformed so as increase enrolment and female participation in education right from primary, secondary, to higher education. During this period, other remarkable informal state programs aimed at promoting the role of women in the society were instituted and implemented (Amin January 2011). However, the only drawback was the maintenance of the Personal Status Laws. These laws were perpetuated by the infitah4 policies which widened the gap between the poor and the rich. Thus, women were greatly affected by these policies. Nevertheless, the Egyptian first lady named Jehan Sadat championed the campaigns calling for the reform of the Personal Status Law. The law, which was dubbed Jehan’s Law, was implemented in 1979 alongside another law that instituted changes in representation of women in parliament. The Jehan’s law gave Egyptian women legal rights in marriages, polygamy as well as divorce and child custody, among others. After Nasser’s, reign, came Sadat. During his period in power, women still has no independent representative organizations to advocate for their freedoms and rights. It was until Mubarak’s regime that most women’s movement reemerged. The formation of women activism movements intensified afresh. These movements provided the arena upon which women could raise their grievance against oppressive policies towards them. They were able to use these movements to fight for their rights through amending laws which seemed to undermine their freedom. For instance, in 1985, the Personal Status Law was amended. The amendment of this law can be attributed to the pressure which mounted from Islamists who pushed for implementation of law that are conservative and those that diminish the support for women’s representation. Thus, there was need for the reemergence of women’s activist movements so as to revert back the Personal Status Law to the 1979 version. The women therefore intensified their fight against the Personal Status Law and also against former taboo issues of clitoridectomy and contraception5. However, there were splits among the women activists with regards to the Personal Status Law. In this regards, The Arab Women’s Solidarity Association (AWSA) pushed for the support of the law, whereas the Progressive Women’s Union was against the law and held the law had been passed unconstitutional and should therefore be annulled. It is therefore evident that women activism movements that were fighting for freedom in Egypt suffered severe attacks from Islamists (El-Sharkawy ). On the other hand, the women movements continued to be repressed even further. In this regards, a series of legislations continued to monitor the establishment of associations and organizations under the Ministry of Social Affairs. For instance, the Law of Association compelled women activists to operate as informal groups or as officially registered organizations. Thus, they were directly controlled by the Ministry of Social Affairs. In addition, before holding any public meetings, rallies, demonstrations and protest marches, these organizations and associations required approval form the Interior Ministry. Also, the ministry of Social Affairs was empowered and given the authority to license or dissolve such organizations. As such, women activism organizations operated at the mercy of the state, under the Ministry of Social Affairs. The Minster of Social Affairs had the authority to revoke the license of any organization that engaged in political or even religious activities. A good example is when the state declined to license the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights in 1985 on the basis that it was more of a political organization that a human rights movement. Indeed, several women activism movements opted not to register their organizations as private organizations or Non Governmental Organizations under the Ministry of Social Affairs. Instead, they preferred to register their organizations as research centers or civic non-profit companies under the Office of Property and Accreditation6. The government restricted the operations of such movements. As such, it was not easy for women to fight for their freedom that easily. A number of these movements were banned. This was aimed at suppressing their activities. For instance, one the prominent women activism organization, AWSA was banned by the government. This can be attributed to the position taken by the AWSA’s leader, Nawal E-Sa’dawi7 regarding the Gulf-War. Thus, from the foregoing discussion, it can be concluded that women in Egypt have played a major role in fighting for their freedom. The role of activists groups in this fight cannot also be overlooked. As such, a myriad of women activism movements have been established to perpetuate the fight for their freedoms with regards to poverty and illiteracy eradication, increased women’s access to educational, work, healthcare as well as political participation. However, it is apparent that this fight has not been a walk in park. The women have had to go through a myriad of hurdles including various legislations aimed at undermining their activities in the fight for freedom and their rights. Bibliography Al-Aswany, Alaa , and Jonathan Wright. On the State of Egypt: What Made the Revolution Inevitable. New York: Vintage Books, 2011. Al-Ali, Nadje S. "The Womens Movement in Egypt, with selected References to Turkey." United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. no. 5 (2002): 1-43. Amin, Shahira. Pressenza international press agency, "Egyptian Women Waiting to Reap the Fruits of the Revolution." Last modified January 2011. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://pressenza.com/npermalink/egyptian-women-waiting-to-reap-the-fruits-of-the-revolution. Egypt State Information Service, "History of women in Egyptian life." Last modified 2011. Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Story.aspx?sid=2248. El-Sharkawy, Youssra. safe world for women, "Are Egypts women losing their rights?." Accessed April 12, 2012. http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/womens-rights/wr-middle-east/wr-egypt/1484-are-egypts-women-losing-their-rights.html. Katulis, Brian. "Womens reights in Focus: Egypt." Freedom House. (2004): 1-39. Talhami , Hashem Ghada. The mobilization of Muslim women in Egypt. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1996. Tucker, Judith. women in nineteenth-century Egypt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. Read More