http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=75531&d=31&m=12&y=2005
Saturday, 31, December, 2005 (30, Dhul Qa`dah, 1426)
Veiled Woman Appointed Cabinet Minister in Egypt
Dalia Helal, Arab News
CAIRO, 31 December 2005 - Aicia Abdul Hady has become the first veiled
woman to hold an Egyptian ministerial post, a decision widely considered a
positive move toward appointing more women to higher government positions
while, at the same time, helping to appease Egypt's Muslim conservatives.
Aicia was appointed minister of labor force and immigration by President
Hosni Mubarak, who won re-election on Sept. 7 in a field of nine candidates.
The previous minister had held the position for over 15 years. The changeover
is a part of an attempt by the Mubarak administration to address the
unemployment problem by seeking fresh solutions, government officials have
said.
The move comes after women were not strongly represented during the
parliamentary elections held recently, government sources told Arab News. The
Muslim Brotherhood, officially banned but politically tolerated in Egypt, made
record gains in the last parliamentary elections after being shut out of the
election for president.
Aicia started her career in pharmacology before joining the labor union
movement in 1964. She later became vice president of the Chemical Industry
Union before becoming the first woman to join the board of directors of the
country's umbrella organization for labor unions. She is a member of the
Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party, as well as a board member of the
International Labor Organization in Geneva.
One of the Muslim Brotherhood's leading members, Khairat Al-Shater,
issued a statement saying the appointment of a woman minister that wears a veil
(hijab) is "insufficient change" that should be followed by a "wide-scale move"
toward "officially accepting the hijab".
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