http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1044/fe1.htm
21 - 27 April 2011
Issue No. 1044
Features
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875
New concerns for women?
Should women be concerned about their rights after the revolution, asks Dena
Rashed
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I shall remain free
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It doesn't take a long conversation before one hears the phrase, "women in
Egypt have enough rights. What more do they want?" This is a question that is
often heard in conversations with some men, often when women are discussing
their lacking rights.
However, over the past few weeks the question has been given a new urgency in
the light of news that some voices have been calling for a review of certain
laws that concern women. Debates in the media have included the right of
divorced parents to have access to their children, khul' -- the right of a
woman to divorce without her husband's consent if she forgoes her financial
rights -- and the quota of women in parliament.
Since Egypt has become more accustomed to demonstrations since the 25 January
Revolution, it was less surprising when divorced husbands took to the streets
to demonstrate some weeks ago in order to demand changes in the law that would
allow them to see more of their children. Their main demand was to change the
law that allows divorced husbands to see their children but not to have custody
of them.
Women's and mothers' NGOs responded by stressing mothers' rights, warning of
attempts to take away existing rights. It has been particularly alarming over
recent weeks that laws governing the rights of women have been dubbed
"Suzanne's laws", in reference to the wife of former president Hosni Mubarak.
Nihad Abul-Qomsan, head of the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights (NCWR), is
one activist who has been feeling that women are being excluded from the
revolution and even being asked to step aside. She believes that the debate on
changing the rights of divorced husbands is meant as a blow to the whole
personal status law, as she told Al-Ahram Weekly in an interview.
"If we want to provide a decent environment for men, then we have to do the
same for women. There is definitely a problem with the law providing the right
of divorced fathers to see their children, since mothers have custody of the
children until the latter are 15. At the same time, the law does not provide
mothers with an efficient way to attain alimony for their children. As a
result, we have mothers with children but no money available from the father's
side, so mothers end up having a grudge against the father," Abul-Qomsan said.
The state, she says, has abdicated its responsibility in this area, letting
society handle it in the way it thinks fit and making alimony something that a
woman has to struggle for on a personal basis. "When matters are like this, we
can't just ask for a certain part of the law to be changed and leave the rest.
The revolution didn't arrive to abolish women's rights, which is why we need a
clear statement from the Military Council stressing the protection of women's
rights."
Abul-Qomsan said that certain Islamist forces could be using women's rights as
an entry point into political debate, particularly when the country as a whole
is busy with political arrangements. Women, she says, have been largely
excluded from the new cabinet and from the constitutional committee that framed
the recent constitutional amendments.
There are also concerns over khul'. Over the past few years, and especially
after the khul' law in 2000, this has been seen as a victory for women by many
people rather than as a right long granted by Islam. Abul-Qomsan believes that
voices now calling for a review of the khul' law want women to return to the
situation before the law was passed.
In the absence of reliable statistics on cases of khul', Abul-Qomsan believes
that many people may be under the impression that many women resort to this
law, which is not in fact the case. "People need to know that the majority of
divorce cases do not employ khul '," she says. "If society hasn't been able to
accept khul' more than 10 years after its inception, this means that
government, education and the media have not played their proper role in
showing that this right is important to society."
For Abul-Qomsan, the Muslim Brotherhood has been casting doubt on the law.
"They say they are for Sharia law, yet they argue that khul' does not conform
to the values and traditions of society. This raises the question of what kind
of Egypt we want, and what kind of principles we want: human rights and
democracy, or certain traditions of society?"
As an activist, Abul-Qomsan believes that the loudest voice tend to get heard,
though these may not represent majority views. "With no clear statements from
the government, does this mean that the government agrees with such voices,"
she asks. She fears that there is now a perception that the revolution, the
work of liberals and leftists, may now be handed to the Islamists, bypassing
the rights of women.
While Abul-Qomsan is disturbed by ongoing calls to scrutinise the laws
regarding women, Azza Suleiman, head of the Egyptian Centre for Women's Legal
Assistance (CEWLA), says that her concerns are not only about women's rights.
"There are certainly many doubts at the moment, but the most important of these
is how to make Egypt into a properly civil country," she told the Weekly.
Like Abul-Qomsan, Suleiman believes that there is a need for balance, "Men
should not be given certain powers in cases of divorce when it comes to the
right of custody of the children, if women do not have similar powers. A man
has the right to divorce a woman, while the courts only allow women to divorce
men for a limited set of reasons. While a woman may spend years in court trying
to get alimony payments, her former husband can make a new life for himself and
remarry. While it used to take a woman 10 years in court to get a divorce, now
it takes five, which is still too long. The khul' was based on the Sharia law
in the sense that the marital relationship has faltered, but a woman can spend
a year and half even getting that."
Suleiman believes that all voices should be heard in the debate on women's
rights, but at the same time, she says, there needs to be a revolution in
education. Change is needed, she adds, but this change should reinforce
perceptions of the value of women in society, and religious scholars should be
asked to back such ideas.
"There is a need to ensure that the law is fair to women. When laws are made,
all voices should be heard, and if someone says that the Sharia should be
applied, they should be asked to explain how this will take place in real
contexts. Activists and NGOs who have been working on social matters should
also be invited to consult on the laws."
Suleiman, who started working in the field more than a decade ago, argues that
in the same way that NGOs have developed their opinions over time, so change is
inevitable from law makers.
She has also heard the voices that label certain laws concerning women
"Suzanne's laws," a matter that she believes is superficial. She understands
where such kinds of thinking come from, even if she does not care for them
herself. "This clause about the right to see the children for divorced husbands
was formulated in 1929. It has nothing to do with Suzanne Mubarak. However, I
do believe that the National Council for Women and the Council for Motherhood
and Childhood [both supported by Mrs Mubarak] should be reformed and
restructured."
Suleiman shares many of Abul- Qomsan's views, yet she seems more optimistic.
There is little focus on the role of women right now, she says, but along with
other NGOs, her organisation has decided to talk about women's rights at public
meetings in an effort to get them on the agenda nonetheless.
One way of enhancing women's participation in public life would be to reform
the electoral system, and Suleiman also argues that the question of quotas for
women should also be readdressed. "Are we going to give women a quota in
parliament simply to encourage them to participate, or is this intended with
certain political goals in mind, like in the last parliament where 62 women of
the 64 who came in through the quota system were NDP members?"
One way forward might be to bring back the party lists system, Suleiman says,
since she fears that a quota system, were it continued today, would favour the
Muslim Brotherhood.
In fact, it is unclear whether the quota system will remain part of the
electoral system, with some voices calling it unconstitutional, like that of
constitutional law professor at Cairo University Atef El-Banna. The latter
believes that the quota system, devised to increase the number of women sitting
in parliament, negates the principle of equality in the constitution, since
people should not receive favours on the grounds of gender or religion.
Although the constitution is not now functioning as a result of the
constitutional declaration issued by the Higher Council of the Armed Forces,
El-Banna says that this does not necessarily mean that the system has been
cancelled. It should be discussed, he says. The stipulation in the constitution
that says that parliament should consist of 50 percent workers and 50 percent
peasants should also be cancelled, he says.
Suleiman disagrees, saying that the quota system is not unconstitutional, since
articles 8, 11 and 40 of the constitution discuss the role of the state in
supporting women in society and in families, saying that law makers should take
steps to enhance their role. The quota system is one such step, she says.
Whatever the case may be, El-Banna argues that all the country's existing laws
should now be reviewed, adding that it is well-known that certain laws are
associated in people's minds with presidents' wives. The same thing happened
with laws promoted by Jehan El-Sadat, wife of former president Anwar El-Sadat,
he says. This, for him, is anyway not the issue, and he argues that any
criticisms of these laws should be made the object of public debate.
We should be looking for the most qualified people in all areas, he said,
whether these are men or women, old people or young people. "As for the women
who have criticised the lack of female members on the committee that amended
the constitution, this is a strange point of view. The committee does not
operate with a quota system, and its members do not have to represent different
segments of society. I utterly refuse that kind of logic."
For Sameh Ashour, former head of the Lawyers' Syndicate, "a party lists system
would give women a good chance in the forthcoming elections, and it could be
used instead of the quota system."
While this system has been attracting growing interest, women like Abul- Qomsan
and Suleiman, dedicated to the cause of women's rights, have been touring the
governorates in order to try to raise women's awareness. Suleiman's campaign is
called, "Let's Write our Constitution with our Own Hands," and she aims to try
to raise people's awareness and to discuss the issue of rights with them. The
campaign also focuses on citizenship and what this means. "It is part of our
fight to lift the fog in front of people's eyes," she says.
Abul-Qomsan, also recently back from Ismailia where she had been conducting one
of her awareness-raising campaigns, is also concerned to talk to people and to
try to raise awareness of women's rights. While she is concerned about the
future of women's rights in Egypt, she is optimistic too, saying that the women
she meets across Egypt are strong and that they are determined to retain their
free will.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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