By Elizabeth A. Conger
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East Desk

CAIRO, Egypt –  According to a report issued by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR), Egypt ranked 125th out of 134 countries when it came to women’s rights in 2010. The report also showed that Egypt ranked thirteenth among countries in the Middle Estate/North Africa region.

Nehad Abu El Komsan, chair of the board of ECWR, said: “The regional ranking is especially saddening . . . Palestine – which is under occupation – preceded Egypt in the women’s rights ranking.”

Among the factors which determined Egypt’s low ranking was the state council’s refusal to appoint female judges in February of 2010.  The ECWR report also stated that the women’s quota system, which reserves sixty four parliamentary seats for female candidates, was only a temporary solution and did not adequately integrate women into the polical sphere.

Abu El Komsan stated: “The women [candidates] were used to decorate the parliament.  It is not an issue of development, it is only a political tool.”

The report noted that although representation of women in political parties turned out ot be weak, some women did successfully emerge as leaders in a few political parties, such as Asmahan Shoukry, who was named the Labor Party’s first female president.

The report’s examination of educational opportunities in Egypt revealed that school curriculum in Egypt reaffirm the stereotypical view that women are only suitable for domestic roles.  Additionally, the study showed many reports of men attempting to break into girls’ schools and harass girls. Girls also reported harassment by teachers and security guards at universities.

As for workplace conditions, women still receive lower wages than men for the same work, are regularly deprived of promotion opportunities, and are treated as temporary labor because of their domestic responsibilities.  A new labor law reduced maternity leave from ninety to one hundred an eighty days, and limited it to twice in a lifetime.

Additionally, the study showed a marked increase in violence against women. According to the report, 71.4% of violent crimes committed in Egypt during 2010 were against women. A study by several NGO’s also showed that incidents of rape have increased in Egypt, with twenty seven rapes reported daily. It is also estimated that roughly 95% of rape cases in Egypt go unreported.

The study stated that two thirds of young men polled felt that physically torturing a women is “justifiable in some situations.”

The report also noted the rise in two new police practice practices in Egypt: the practice of holding women hostages in order to force fugitives to surrender themselves to the police, and sexual violation of women by police officers. In 2010, several Christian women women were also reported to have disappeared as a part of sectarian violence in Egypt.

The ECWR report concluded with recommendations that the Egyptian government pass more legislation to protect women, do more to integrate women into the political sphere, and promote gender equality through art.

For more information, please see:

thedailynewsegypt.com – Women’s rights in Egypt deteriorate in 2010, says report – 28 December, 2010

msn news – Violence against women increased in Egypt in 2010: Report – 28 December, 2010

ECWR /Bikyamasr – Egypt Women: Postponed rights in 2010 – 28 December, 2010