Nazra for Feminist Studies

A response to the letter of the Prime Minister regarding demands to include women in the High Commission for Legislative Reform,

The undersigned knew of the statement of General Adel Labib, Minister of Local Administration, announcing that the upcoming governor reshuffle will not include any women and that women will only be appointed as assistants and deputies for governors, until they are trained and equipped with necessary qualifications for local administration. The undersigned denounce the exclusion of women by the Minister of Local Administration from the post of governor, and its impact on the status of women in the different fields of  local administration.

In preparing for the elections of the upcoming House of Representatives, and focusing on the status and issues of Women, Nazra for Feminist Studies held a seminar on "the Status of Women in the Elections of the Upcoming House of Representatives", on Monday August 4th, 2014.

Women and Feminist Organizations and Groups have closely followed the debates over the formation of different electoral coalitions in light of preparations for the upcoming elections for the House of Representatives, as well as the negotiations among Civil Political Parties in that regard, especially with regard to the Absolute Closed Lists (ACL) System established by the new Law on the House of Representatives, which divides the country into four ACL districts with a total of 120 seats.

On July 20, 2014, the Manshia Misdemeanor Appeal Court in Alexandria, presided by Judge Sherif Hafez, resulted in lowering the sentence against Woman Human Rights Defender Ms. Mahienour El-Massry to incarceration for 6 months (of which she completed 2 months) and a fine amounting to 50000 Egyptian Pounds. She is currently being detained at Damanhour Women’s Prison. This verdict comes in subsequence to the verdict that was upheld for Ms.

The ruling of the South Cairo Criminal Court on July 16th 2014 against 7 defendants in the Mob-Sexual Assault and Gang Rape incidents, which took place in Tahrir Square on June 8th 2014 during celebrations of the inauguration of the new Egyptian President, is an initial step in the process of holding perpetrators accountable through prosecution and putting an end to several years of impunity; reflecting the State's recognition of these crimes.

This paper seeks to provide a feminist review of the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights and the Law on the House of Representatives, and the impact of the provisions of the latter on the participation of women in the upcoming House of Representatives.

About the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights and the Law on the House of Representatives:

On 8 July 2014, woman human rights defender Ms. Nahid Sherif was permitted a visit by her family at the Qanatir’s Women’s Prison, during which she confirmed that she was physically assaulted by police officers during her arrest.

On June 29, 2014, the first session of the case of the 7 women human rights defenders was conducted, among others, known as the Ittihadia Presidential Palace Case, and the judge adjourned the session by postponing it until September 13, 2014. The session was moved this morning from the Heliopolis Misdemeanor Court to the Police Institute near Tora Prison.