Research On
Women and the Constitution
Between Devoting Reality and Possible Change
Presented To
The Economic and Social rights for Women in the Constitution
18-19 September 2013
First: Introduction
The problem of achieving full equality between men and women in all fields of political, social, and
cultural rights requires two things:
First: working on the Constitution's draft which believed in human dignity, and his/her right in
practicing their rights and freedoms, without distinction between men and women. The principle of
equality stated in the Constitution and the insurance of its practical realization is represented by
establishing the legal protection, abolishing of all the laws, regulations and practices existing in the
present Constitution or in the society, which formed the discrimination against women.
Second: changing the cultural system with its traditional role and stereotype, by working on
supporting the culture of equality and modifying the social and cultural patterns of men and women's
behavior aiming to the elimination of prejudices, customary, and all practices based on the idea of the
superiority of either sexes through the development of the cultural and educational institutions.
The real development of any society, evaluating it and achieving prosperity require the maximum
participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields.
It should be noted that, the Egyptian women submitted a great share of the revolutions of 25 January,
30 June, and before that the 1919 revolution, which leads us to emphasize her role in: political
participation, the crisis management, public action and her right in the Constitution affirms the
principle of full citizenship without a Constitution serves to marginalize or change her role, especially
after her actively participation in the revolution, while we can say that the history of women's struggle
reveals luminous stations and her great role, as well as it reveals the difficulty of the continuous
discrimination culture as the earnings obtained by women through her long struggle has acquired her
Constitutional right, thus, she should be added in a Constitution can be called a "Revolution
Constitution".
Second: Resolving Women's Issues:
1- Constraints on the Egyptian Women's Participation in the Leadership Positions:
A. Cultural Constraints:
The Woman is living her life within the framework of the cultural features of explicit bias for men
through a series imposed value of behaviors and practices that dated back to the matter of cultural
backwardness, which contributes to inherited on one hand and exclusion on the other hand, to
withdraw and frustration case.
The imposition of this cultural framework on women to live as what Qasim Amen said: "from the day
of their birth till the day of their death, they are slaves; because they do not live for themselves, but to
men and by men. Woman needs a man in all her life affairs, she thinks by his mind, sees by his eyes
and wants only by his will, thus she is not an independent person but is a supplement something for
men"(23). Qasim Amen said this at the beginning of the century, even if the picture has varied with the
beginning of the new century, but the problem of the cultural heritage still exists and still largely
affects the social perception of women surrounding them in the traditional roles, which hinder their
access to: the role of working women, studying and participating in the development of their
community, contributing to the decision-making, or who are interested in issues of their society in
general.
Almost all the studies, gathered on that the women's presented image do not go out of being the object
of emotional vulnerability and rarely presented as a leader, creative, or described as intelligent,
rational, and objective, as well as presenting women in lower social status than men, characterizing
her by concepts and qualities which emphasize less superiority, and strangely the women who are
described as intelligent, genius, independent, leadership, and the withdraw of her femininity because
her character is in being a mother, wife, daughter, and sister. The cultural framework surrounding our
society eventually leads to declining the women's capacity due to their exposure to physical,
psychological and social suppression represented in the values, customs and various other social
pressures that make the vital energy of the girl disappears, and in many cases takes the form of
frustration, withdrawal, aggression and lack of self-confidence.
There are various cultural resources that affect women's ability and the formation of traditional
stereotypical image limiting them in its framework, and the most important resources are: education
and the media – cinema, television, press and radio-... etc. For education, the discrimination between
males and females is very clear, although the presence of equal opportunities principle for both, but in
the level of practice, there is a clear disparity between them in all stages of education, beside that the
values provided in the school curriculum emphasizes the marginalization of girls from roles, social
and moral status, mental actions and basic decisions-making. For the image of a working, leader,
educated, creative women or to be able to participate in decision-making does not exist or is fainted
and if it appears, the values that emerge from the educational process does not develop the values of
equality or real participation, but devotes the inferior values that puts the women in inferior level,
have no rights except in the traditional and planned framework of heritage.
The image of women provided through the educational process dedicated retro-concepts, women are
not equal in quality, thus, are not in production, employment and participation resulting in forming
concepts and negative trends in the women as fear, lack of confidence and withdrawal from social and
political life. There is no doubt that the cultural heritage added to the various social and educational
upbringing are still having a governor character preventing women's effective participation, because
they did not earn a high degree of awareness about themselves and the world around them, and the
awareness of their ability to change reality, then wasting their abilities which often turns to an
obedient, negative and independent human.
The increase of the cultural prohibition, lack of freedom for more fear and repression, narrowing the
opportunities to participate in the educational decision-making, and the rule of bureaucracy in the
school community, all of this does not help in the development of the girl's personality and does not
contribute to the formation of the critical vision and associate behavior. Domination and imposition of
commands prevent women since their birth from their right in initiating their opinion sand active
participation.
Despite the expansion of education -which includes both male and female- this has not been
accompanied by a change in social construction and value formats, that already achieves education
democracy in its true sense, which affects the educational system itself having the same parental
authority , which affects its content, philosophy, and orientations that results in the disparity between
males and females' education as well as the gap between what is said and what is done, and the
decisions and recommendations that emphasize the importance of the elimination of the gender
disparities in education opportunities and between the actual practice.
The cultural backwardness issue, where the heritage factor is mainly contributes to, beside the Arab
community in general has not witnessed technical and scientific revolution but witnessed instant
changes reflected in the updated sectors of education while the cultural heritage was kept the same,
especially with regard to the women's legal, economic, and values systems. Unfortunately, some of
these systems are ancients as we inherit them generation after generation so that they become a
component of our mentality and personality. Although in some periods, some systems and legislation
concerning women have changed, men's mindset have not changed, the parental authority was
dropped () to some extent but still exist in the traditions, customs and cultural. The emancipation of
women is partly does not mean the emancipation and liberation of their ideology, character, and mind
so long as the society was not liberated from the cultural heritage, which is so far an obstacle on their
minds -as a result of being a veil between women and life- and their movements, consequently that
turns the concept of the harem and harem, and political, cultural, and social veils, as well as the
splitting in men's community and women's community, each has its own culture.
Noticing that, the cultural constraints' results don't stop wasting women's valuable social and
economic role, but the waste of the effective participation value by women as well by involving them
in multiple conflicts of different levels and in the midst of those conflicts, women are concerned only
by surviving themselves through isolation or adaptation to the dominant culture. With those stated
difficulties reflected in the inherited and dominant culture as well as the fighting force of women for
equality, freedom, rights and participation, this study confirms that hope is connected by the progress
forces which can change the women as a problem to women which can provide solutions not only for
themselves but for the whole society as it is a society issue type.
Re- noticing that, in Egypt, the dominant culture impeded the positive process of the women's
participation, their access to leadership, and the decision-making positions, while the personality is
formed on strengthening gender differences, strengthen the sense of sex within the family, schools and
the media so as to make the differences between masculinity and femininity input to create a sense in
women makes them less ambitious than men in managing the community affairs, and make them
more concerned with matters of marriage, sex and pleasing men. The loss of awareness in the political
and cultural content is considered as a gateway to men's obedience in decision-making and selfdetermination.
Finally, the gap between what is legal and the actual practice is increasing by the inherited and
dominant culture, as also the same laws including its gains are threatened under the variables
surrounding the Egyptian society.
B. social and economic constraints:
In Egypt and other similar Arab countries in development, Although women had made a progress on
the social-economic levels of the past decades of the twentieth century, the depth and the spread of
this progress is still at much lower levels than required, as the situation of the rural women – situation
of many women – still suffer problems of underdeveloped, ideologically and educationally society. (25)
In the area of economic activity, the labor market does not open the door widely to women, on equal
terms with men in many professions and business, we add to all this the economic imperatives that
some families may be forced to pull the girls out of school to help at home works, agriculture, trade or
other work sites. As a result of that tight labor market for women in addition to other obstacles that the
participated women's percentage is much smaller in relation to men and for what should be required
for real development.
The quality of the work –as known- is the result of the education and training processes. In Egypt
education has an important role in the division of employment in addition to the genre, due to the
condition of women and the social and cultural context surrounding them the opportunities of
education are less than men... The female workers in the technical and scientific occupations are at
rates not exceeding 28.5% of the total workers in this area, while the percentage drops to 11.7% for
managers, administrators, and business bosses, and it rises to 33.9% for clerical workers, indicating
the important fact which is the presence of women in business, that require a scientific advance
preparation is much less than men and the gap between women and men in decision-making which is
emphasized by another study showed that women occupying senior posts (first under-secretary
ministry-General Manager), do not exceeds 172 women , and male engineers are 34.8% vs. 5.2% of
women. (30)
Due to the limited opportunities for women in education and training with a strong need to assist them
meeting the needs of the family and living expenses, where a large number of them were employed in
the informal sector, this sector does not require the use of artistic techniques is high, it depends mainly
on the recruitment potential of muscle and manual. Since the consideration of women's work as a
result of economic needs, a large segment of female workers are without professional aspirations,
perhaps most of them tend to give up work and return home if there is an economic return. A study
performed on a sample of 150 women, working in different fields, shows the lack of ambition among
members of the sample, most of them agreed on there are specific actions for women and another for
men, and the family responsibilities impeded their career ambition. Moreover, the study shows that
the more having children, the less professional ambitious she has. Beside female workers in
occupations such as engineers, senior physicians, and chemicals were having grater ambition and
sense of independence more than office and service workers. (31)
Official statistics show that the number of working women approaching 2.5 million, about 14% of the
total workforce in the State working in the Government sector, about 1.3 million, representing 11%,
5.2%, in economic bodies and 9.6% the service authorities. The rate of the women's employment in
the tourism sector were 47% of the number of employees, 44% in the insurance sector and Social
Affairs, 37.1% in education, research, youth, and irrigation, 35.9% of the total workers in the health
services sector, and the labor force, 35.7 segments of population and media sectors, 26% in the
housing and construction sector, 24% in the finance sector and economy, 19.5% in the sectors of
government offices and local councils, 18.1% in sectors of industry and petroleum, and 17.8% in the
presidential service sector (32).
The previous figures show the Egyptian women's presence in fields of social services, policy, social,
religious, syndicates affairs and media, according to data of the Ministry of State for administrative
development until the first of January 2000 – public sector employment – 2001. With respect to
leadership positions held by women in the government, we find that women hold 25% of the total
leadership positions in the Government sector in 2000 vs. 2.8% in 1981, reflecting a significant
increase in the proportion that was disproportionate to the ratio of women's number in the total
population in the society, which is up to 50% according to the statistics of the Central Agency for
public mobilization and statistics.
It is noted that there are many factors that have led to the marginalization of women's economic role
and its reflection on their social and political role, where the most important factor was: the economic
crisis and unemployment spread as a result of the inability of the productive structure to determine the
workforce in Egypt. Then, a negative trends appeared towards women's work described as a reserve
for a time of need and this was reflected by the cases that prompted the return of women to home and
raising the children, citing by the increase of deviation among youth and the current events, although
no event proved any relationship, casual or direct correlation between rates of deviation and mother's
work, perhaps the contrary is proved if this phenomena examines the other thing -beside the
aggravation of the economic crisis- that the current development policies have led to a decrease in the
economic capacity and thus, the capacity determined by the labor force in General and female's labor
force in particular. The causes of the marginalization of women economically and socially also is the
difficult material circumstances surrounding the exercise of women's work, lack of a nursery to take
care for their children, and circumvent employers to the text 139 of the Law, which requires the
establishment of nurseries for the workers' children, which was hung on the condition of moving 100
workers from the place. Thus, those circumstances have led to a decline in the work value as a human
right full self and affirms under the aforementioned factors, where the standard selection of work has
become the one having higher incomes and more comfortable conditions, hence, if marriage of some
ladies had more profitable economic conditions with less effort, they waive the idea of work easily.
Perhaps this poor economic situation which suffers women, was reflected in much worse on them, led
to their exclusion from decision-making, and development plans, where the aggravate female
unemployment rate results in the father or husband's inability to earn a living from females resulting
reducing the attention to the girl and her education. For the health level, all the unemployed women in
the informal sector, they have no insurance which reveals that most women are not insured nor
receiving the necessary health care, and under the high cost of treatment, many Egyptian families not
bother to the a girl-child or women complain in particular, beside, as a result of the absence of
women's health policies, no solutions are posed to such thing, where the child mortality under age 5
increased per 1000 live births.
Imaginary Proposal to Face Constraints to Resolve Women's Issues:
1. It became clear from the previous view of the reality of women's participation and constraints
faced, whether cultural, social or economic oppression, that the oppression is not only caused by men
–only slightly- but the real oppression is the social, economic, and personal oppression ,therefore the
education of women, going out to work, giving attention to their problems, improve their social and
economic status, and improve their image of themselves is the step to eliminating gender
discrimination and to achieve coexistence based on freedom, tolerance and plurality of opinions and
participation of all male and female citizens in the development of the society.
2. the issue of women's participation in all positions and locations, especially to the leadership
positions in the Egyptian community should not be just seen in the narrow scope of any relationship of
men and women, because it is a complicated issue with development, cultural, and comprehensive
dimensions, the goal is not to correct the women's status only but this should be done through a
futuristic vision having the prospects of progress and enlightenment.
It also must decide how much we need to change the traditional educational systems and school
curricula in accordance with the era changes and what can brings change in value formats of equality,
countering beliefs, backwards ideas working on correcting them, and this is the greatest challenge to
face cultural and social constraints. If women's issue interact with other issues of great importance
such as freedom, equality, social justice and human rights, that means that all the concerned parties
should intervene on such issues in order to procedural steps to activate the role of women, develop
their capacity, increase their efficiency and their potential. Perhaps it requires a high degree of
partnership between the different State institutions, judicial bodies, the National Council for women,
political parties, civil society in General, and non-governmental organizations.
We will present a primary visual to the responsibilities of each of the concerned parties to develop the
community, beginning with the State Institutions which can -through their possess powers- enable
women to access justice positions, Chair of the universities, and the leading positions that influence in
decision-making. This may requires the State's attention to the educational institution first, working on
its development, modifying and deletion of the concepts and values that: reinforce a bilateral culture
between men and women, and the traditional roles of both, by working through its curricula to present
and illustrate the importance of participation and cooperation between women and men in all areas,
also considering stereotypes through educational institutions such as the media, analytical studies of
newspaper and their position towards women's issues, programs on radio and television, in particular
women and children, and the values of equality and partnership between women and men in different
channels, specialized education which focused on women's efforts and their roles in development, the
need to the attention of the Ministry of information to the honorable women's image and
implementing special programs focused on actual talents among women and reminding the historical
role played by the Egyptian women for community service.
The other thing, that all the institutions should increase paying attention to the education and training
of working women to raise social awareness and efficiency to reach leadership positions, while all the
jobs by studies, research, seminars, and conferences stressed the importance of publishing a
specialized law in determining the percentage of leadership positions according to the percentage of
the female workers in each institution.
However, sympathize with this requirement means emphasizing bilateral and considering the issue of
women in a closed context from the society and its problems in general, therefore to work
deliberately will be more useful as to access leadership positions through seriousness and dedication
in work as part of a comprehensive plan to raise the awareness of the whole society, and the change
of the impeding concepts of equality and freedom of all the educational, social, and political
institutions, verifying that plan, we should emphasize the need to issue a law requiring the political
parties, professional unions and representative councils to allocate a number of seats for women as
seats for young people as well, also for emphasizing the status of women in the parliament, a new
parliamentary Committee can be introduced and to be called "Committee for the Advancement of
Egyptian women", its role is the cooperation with the National Council for women, non-governmental
organizations, and specialized centers to form a pressure group within the women's Parliament to
approve legislation supporting views that help achieving women's political ambition, also working on
a unified labor code references to ensure that the rights of women with regard to equal opportunities,
the terms and conditions of employment, particularly for marginalized groups of them.
Moreover, the Egyptian government should work with non-governmental organizations together to
focus on the development of the Arabic women status, and work on refining legislation and the Arabic
texts which almost guarantee gender inequality or give advantages and rights of holding leadership
positions on the basis of sex and not efficiency , or the State supports capacity-building leadership
programs for local women and especially those programs working on the developing of their
capacities to negotiate and build interest groups. In addition to that, we should pay attention to the
support programs for males and females youth in undergraduate and pre-university stages to develop
ideas inciting gender equality and combat gender-based discrimination.
The Role of the Private Associations and Non-governmental Organizations is:
1. Non-governmental organizations should allocate funding for women's election campaigns in
cooperation with the parties, Union committees, labor… etc.
2. Forming a base through NGOs in partnership with trade unions and political parties, to
monitor information of all forms of discrimination against women.
3. Developing training programs to raise women's political and cultural awareness, in a simple
and easy way and inform women of their legitimate political rights.
4. The need of presenting new leaders to avoid an elite crisis and scarcity, by helping the
candidates for membership of trade unions, encouraging many of them for nomination and the
partnership between trade unions with political parties with all the associations and centers
which are able to develop women's skills and to raise their process and leadership efficiency.
As for the role of the National Council for Women, it should search for new mechanisms to increase
the efficiency of women considered as the main pushing group for their cases, and to develop their
capacities, abilities, and talents by providing support for women parliamentarians and leaders of
women's work to improve and support their work, so that the public could review their performance in
their cases of choosing women to leadership positions. The National Council should also develop the
critical women's speech as not to support the women femininity, but to check things, examine the
details and to help the women's movement forming objective critical speeches pushing forward. (35)
Moreover, The National Council should adopt a long-term plan aiming at providing assistance and
training courses, preparation of women leaders' cadres that can reach decisions-making positions in
Egypt. In addition to paying attention to studies and research related to different women's issues such
as educational research that aims to change the image of women and to change the traditional concepts
that do not recognize full equality between women and men, and research which include the
developing of the legal infrastructure in the direction of equality between them.
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Educating women the group working mechanisms and self-reliance.
Raising the awareness of women cadres to the community issues and women's issues,
knowing the political and economic variables to understand the changes and their impact on
women, also the change of the women's status by providing them the ability to exchange
experiences and networking among the women leaders.
Holding conferences, seminars and panel discussions on topics concerning working women
and organizing training sessions to raise awareness of the role of women in work and
awareness of their rights and duties.
Third: Education and Women in the Constitution:
The confusion of the constitutional authorities requires carefulness and reading the modern
democratic constitutions which deserved by their people after the struggles and sacrifices establishing
a democratic society. All the Egyptian people - men and women- sacrifice their lives for having a life
where the principle of full equality is found, the Constitution should take a package of immediate
measures to improve the conditions of millions of women's lives, and to guarantee them a fair system
in education, employment, fighting against illiteracy, poverty and spreading the social security.
We should remember that, the Egyptian women's issues (1) had been resolved since 7000 BC in
Pharaonic Egypt, where Egypt was the only country appropriated for women equal legal status with
men; women were doing contracts, having complete freedom to choose her husband, equated with
men in inheritance, work, and leadership, and participating in the government. The equality between
men and women was completed in the era of the Pharaohs.
1- The right to education is basic human rights which the State must guarantee to all its citizens
without discrimination and standard levels.
2-The State obliged to formulate social, economic and cultural policies in dealing with
education as an essential part of human development and achieving national cohesion.
3- The State should spend on education by not less than the world rates to ensure a high level of
quality and allows the development of the educational institutions (schools, universities,
research centers) in the light of the revolution objectives of social justice and human dignity.
4- The State obliged to oriented the education towards dignity and promote the values of
equality, democracy and understanding between all groups, nations, and traditional and religious
groups.
(1)
The Pharaonic Women- Fatima Abdullah's translation- written by Christen Derris- General Book Authority – 1999.
5- The State ensures building educational institutions taking into account equal geographical
distribution so as to provide the right to education for all in the remote areas.
6- Ease of access to education.
7- Ensure equality in scholarships.
We could say we're at two stages:
First stage is drafting a Constitution reflects the culture of citizenship which emphasizes values of
equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sex, color or religion… etc, and rejecting any text in
the Constitution likely having restricted and changing the concept of equality and impedes the
achievement of full equality.
Second stage is to change the stereotypes of women in consistent with the gains they had across the
history of struggle and active participation in the revolutions of 25 January and 30 June by changing
the role of cultural and educational institutions, in particular in achieving the noble goals of the
revolution.
Women should get equal rights with men in the field of education, which makes them capable of
doing the same work of men, and this requires:
1. To be benefited from the same opportunities and degrees.
2. Curriculum reflects information and values that firmly established the role of women and
the positive image of them and to face this traditional disappointing image.
3. Encouraging mixed education, activities, classroom and school climate characterized by
a democratic environment that supports a culture of citizenship and non-discrimination.
4. Formulation of educational programs for girls and women who had dropped out from
the educational process or did not attend for social or cultural reasons.
5. Organizing continuous education programs which contribute to the empowerment and
rehabilitation to narrow the existing gap in education between men and women.
6. It's important that, women should have their rights to exercise their role freely and
confidently. As for many studies have demonstrated that women themselves need to
change and they are the maker of underdevelopment and reproduced through their roles
in upbringing.
The full development and welfare of any society requires women's participation on an equal level with
men in all fields Surprisingly, the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of
discrimination against women attended by the concerned Egypt's non-governmental organizations on
the follow-up of the Convention, in accordance with the commitment to eradicate illiteracy in all
forms (alphabet, cultural and political) through programs in line with the population diversity,
pluralism and equality.
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The State guarantees the efficiency of programs, curricula and educational policies that show
the risk of discrimination and improve the respect for the values of equality, justice,
democracy, social and human solidarity and acceptance of religious diversity and the
intellectual and political.
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The State guarantees the right for all children to attend formal and non-formal education and
take the necessary procedures for the integration of street and working children in formal
education.
The State guarantees the development of technical and vocational education to enable
learners to join the labor market.
The State is committed to provide specialized education for special needs' students within
the formal education system that ensures their educational and social integration.
The State is committed in the formulation of educational curricula to take account of
differences in the type and geographical identity, so as to achieve national unity in the light
of the culture of citizenship and equality.
Academic students' freedom to express themselves and the independence of the educational
institutions.
Obligation of the State to provide budgets and equilibration, allocating the resources for
education in accordance with the standards of social justice through qualified education
achieving equality and democracy, education with the most important feature of availability
and quality for all without any discrimination.
Thus, women deserve to take their full rights through the Constitution that guarantees and states
clearly and specifically on the right to education, employment and political participation, and
entrenches the principle of equality in all areas, without conditions or restrictions (With no contrary
with the provisions of the Sharia). Moreover, the Constitution must confirm the ban of the minors'
marriage and commit the State affirmative action for women and women's right in pursuit public life
and political rights.
The Constitution should include also the following:
- The State shall guarantee qualified and free education for all citizens, for all ages and
stages of education, and enables all citizens from the culture of citizenship to an active
participation in social, political and cultural life.
- The State should ensure flexible and varied software and systems to suit different
situations as learners' circumstances and promote diversity and plurality.