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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Feminists tread carefully
By Mona El-NahhasConcerned over the condition of Egyptian women, a group of women's rights activists decided a few months ago to establish a women's union. They submitted the idea to Social Affairs Minister Mervat Tellawi who, according to them, was sympathetic. Tellawi, they said, offered them a list of 22 civil associations working in the field of women's affairs which would like to join the proposed union. The minister, they added, promised to take their idea into consideration after the publication of the executive statutes of the new NGO law, which was enacted in June and viewed by many NGOs as restrictive.
Founders of the proposed union agreed to wait for the publication of the executive statutes, but decided to keep on meeting, studying the plan in all its aspects and preparing the papers and documents necessary for establishing the union. They invited intellectuals, journalists and women activists to attend a meeting Sunday evening to discuss measures for making the union a reality.
The would-be founders were taken aback, however, when they came under severe verbal attack by a top ministry official, who described their meeting as illegal and branded the union's establishment as a violation of the law. The attack by the ministry's first under-secretary, Anwar El-Sherif, was published by the national and opposition newspapers last Friday.
El-Sherif told Al-Ahram Weekly that his statement reflects his own position, and that he had no idea about the opinion of Tellawi, who was not available for comment. According to El-Sherif, he previously informed the group of women's rights activists that their union could not be established because a group of 200 associations working in the field of women's development had already submitted a request to the ministry for registering a union. And as the law does not allow the formation of more than one union working in the same field, there would be no place for another union.
Women's rights activists sent a memorandum to the minister, asking her to offer an explanation, to which they said they did not receive a response.
During Sunday's gathering, the activists were very much worried about the future of their proposed union, wondering whether they were standing on solid ground. Leading feminist Nawal El-Saadawi asked them to calm down, asserting that the union would soon be a reality. "It's a matter of time. Yet, our efforts should continue until we achieve our goal," she said. Copies of the amended draft of the union's plan of action were distributed to the more than 100 women present. El-Saadawi asked them to send the copies to the feminist societies to which they belong to seek their opinion. The meeting also witnessed the establishment of two committees, one responsible for pursuing the legal action necessary for the union's formation and the second for encouraging the largest number of feminist societies from all governorates to join the union. The two-hour meeting was concluded with women deciding to continue their struggle until the union is established.
Hoda Zakariya, a professor of sociology, said that what happened should have been expected. "It's very normal to encounter bureaucratic officials who are keen on undermining any grassroots initiative. We know they will not allow us to form a non-governmental feminist union easily. So, we have to become entangled in a fierce battle until we gain our rights," she said.
Zakariya claimed that El-Sherif was adopting an anti-feminist attitude. She referred to a letter he sent them in July, in which he said that there are no associations working in the field of women's development under the current law.
Lawyer Tahani El-Gebali said that the women have no alternative but to wait for the publication of the NGO law's executive statutes and to keep in contact with officials at the ministry. "We should abide by the law in order to prove that all our steps are legal," she said.
Mohamed Abul-Isaad, a professor of history, was enthusiastic about the idea of a union. He believes that the establishment of the union is a necessity, after women's rights became threatened by certain reactionary political and religious trends. Abul-Isaad said that under the current law, a union should include no less than 10 associations and until now, more than 20 associations have filed membership applications, in addition to numerous societies nationwide which welcomed the idea and expressed readiness to join. Abul-Isaad was surprised at the delay in publishing the executive statutes, declaring that it had resulted in a halt of associations' activities.
The establishment of an Egyptian women's union was El-Saadawi's brainchild. To turn her dream into reality, El-Saadawi held several meetings with women's rights activists and they formed a preparatory committee that drafted the union's plan. The union is going to be the first since that of the late Hoda Shaarawi, one of the nation's pioneer feminists. It aims at uniting feminist associations all over the country because, feminists say, the women's movement cannot be strong as long as it is fragmented.
In a memorandum sent to all women's groups and NGOs working with or for women, the goals of the union were stated as defending women's rights and ending discrimination against women. Other aims are amending laws related to women's private and public lives, bringing about a feminist renaissance and raising women's awareness of their rights.
