The Necessity of Including Women in the Composition of the Supreme Committee for Legislative Reform, Created by Decree of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt no. 187/2014

The signatories hereto have taken notice of Decree of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt no. 187/2014 on the Creation of the Supreme Committee for Legislative Reform. Due to the significance of this Committee and its impact on the status of Women in all areas, through the legislations it will issue, the signatories stress the necessity of representing Women in the composition of this committee, and including in its membership women legal professionals, lawyers, and experts from Civil Society Organizations, Feminist Organizations and political Parties, as well as representatives of the national mechanism for Women's Rights, i.e. the National Council for Women, while there is still time for these experts to join the Committee. Failure to represent Women as experts in the Committee would be unfair, considering the abundance of women with broad expertise in legislation, particularly with respect to statutes that have an impact on the Status of Women in Egypt and their private lives.

The signatories hereto put forth this proposal on the basis of the provisions of Article 1 of the Decree of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt no. 187/2014 on the Creation of the Supreme Committee for Legislative Reform, which stated that the membership of the committee may include one or two women professors from faculties of Law at universities, to be selected by the Supreme Council of Universities; one woman lawyer to be selected by the Council of the Bar Association; and one or two women legal figures of public renown to be selected by the Prime Minister.

Furthermore, Article 3 of the Decree on the Creation of the Supreme Committee for Legislative Reform provided for the representation of Women in the Professional Secretariat, as professionals and administrators, to effectively manage the affairs of the Committee. Also, according to article 5 of the Decree, Women members may be included in Sub-Committees to be created by the Committee: one woman for Economic Legislations, one for Administrative Legislations, one for Social Legislations, one for National Security Legislations, one for Litigation and Justice Legislations, one for Education legislation, etc. We emphasize the need for the inclusion of women representatives of Civil Society, Feminist Organizations and Political Parties in the composition of this Committee, to reflect the principles of the Amended Constitution of 2012, as manifested in Article 11 (1) which states: "The State shall guarantee equality between Women and Men in all civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights in accordance with the Constitution", as well as to provide for Gender Mainstreaming in economic, cultural, educational, and legal legislations.  

Signatories:
1. Nazra for Feminist Studies.
2. Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development Association (ACT).
3. Centre for Egyptian Women Legal Assistance.
4. Daughter of the Land Association.
5. El-Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence.
6. Enlightened Egypt Foundation.
7. Legal Foundation for Family Assistance and Human Rights.
8. New Woman Foundation.
9. The Egyptian Foundation for Family Development.
10. The Egyptian Women Union (under establishment).
11. The Forum for Women in Development.
12. The Women and Memory Forum.
13. The Women's Committee of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party.