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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Brothers forward a new image, and a sister
By Amira Howeidy
Six years after it published three documents on women, Copts and political participation, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood seems to be side-stepping its traditional line of thought. The group's Alexandria branch released on 23 August its list of candidates for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, which contained for the first time in its 72-year history the names of a woman and a Copt.
Jihan El-Halafawi
Forty-eight year old Jihan El-Halafawi, a mother of six, is the woman in question. The Coptic candidate is Samir Mansour, a member of the Alexandria Maglis Melli, or Coptic Community Council.
El-Halafawi is the wife of Ibrahim El-Zafarani, a leading Brotherhood figure and secretary-general of the Alexandria chapter of the Doctors' Syndicate. He was arrested in 1995 and put on trial before a military court that sentenced him to five years imprisonment.
Yet, El-Halafawi sees no contradiction in seeking the support of the governmental National Women's Council for her electoral campaign. The council was formed last March and is headed by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak. Its mandate provides for supporting and promoting women's political participation. At present, the council is organising workshops for women who wish to run in the coming parliamentary elections.
"According to what its officials said, the council is supposed to support all women, regardless of their political or partisan affiliations," El-Halafawi told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I don't see why it should turn me down." Moreover, she argued, "just because I'm affiliated to the Islamist trend, that doesn't mean I'm opposition."
El-Halafawi has a BA in accounting and an MA in Shari'a (Islamic law). She has no experience in political activity.
According to prominent Brotherhood member Essam El-Erian, El-Halafawi's decision to contest the elections is her own initiative "and was not the group's choice."
"But under any circumstances, it's a very good move," he said. Ever since she started campaigning, basically by speaking to the press and media, she has garnered the support of the group's experienced cadres, El-Erian added.
The Brotherhood's choice of a woman and a Copt in Alexandria has raised a few eyebrows, to say the least. Neither women nor Copts have ever been part of the group's public image. Rather, it was widely believed that the Brotherhood was as stringent as other Islamist groups that displayed various levels of intolerance towards women's and Copts participation in public life.
In 1996, Mustafa Mashhour, the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide, told Al-Ahram Weekly that Christians should not be allowed to join the army and should, therefore, pay Al-Jezya (tribute) to the government. The statement caused an uproar in Coptic and liberal circles, ultimately prompting Mashhour to issue a denial. Other Islamists shrugged off Mashhour's opinion as "his own" viewpoint that does not reflect the group's thought.
Is the choice of a woman and a Copt practical proof that the Brotherhood is, after all, for national unity and women's rights?
Indeed, the Brotherhood issued three "declarations" in March 1994, stating full support for a multi-party system that allows for the participation of all political groups regardless of their affiliations or ideology, the right of women to vote and run for election and be treated equally with men, and the right of Copts to be treated on a footing of equality with other citizens.
"Any development in thought should naturally be complemented by practical implementation," said El-Erian.
Moreover, he added, the tripartite alliance for the 1987 elections, which consisted of the Brotherhood, the Labour and Liberal parties, fielded a Coptic candidate.
But the Alexandria candidates may not be on the final official list. Mansour, the Coptic candidate, has been maintaining a low profile. According to Ali Abdel-Rahman, the Brotherhood figure who released the candidates list, Mansour is waiting for the approval of the Maglis Melli before he nominates himself officially. At the time theWeekly went to press, it was not known whether Mansour would be running on the Brotherhood list.
Regardless of his final decision, the Brotherhood's choice of a Copt remains telling of the political statement the group wants to make.
A similar scenario took place in 1997 when a group of young Brotherhood members applied for the establishment of a political party that included a Protestant, triggering debate on the reason behind the move.
On the other hand, security forces have been making nationwide arrests of Brotherhood members -- a move, which observers and the group's leaders linked to the approaching elections. However, the first Brotherhood woman candidate argues that the reason why she decided to contest the elections is that "the climate is very encouraging, for women in particular."
A statement issued along with the candidates list said that the criteria for candidacy includes an age ceiling of 45 years. "Although the Brotherhood's membership in Alexandria includes prominent figures, they decided to give the younger generation a chance in order to enrich the political spectrum with youthful cadres who would be able to make a greater contribution," said the statement.
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