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International Women's Day 8th March
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Shanta Gdeeda: [QB] Tahani al-Gebali, Egypt’s first female judge and vice president of the Supreme Constitutional Court - her comments on the International Women's Day and women's rights: " Al-Masry: How would you assess the status of women’s rights during Mubarak’s 30-year rule? Al-Gebali: It is beyond doubt that Egyptian women struggled over the course of history to gain their rights. This struggle began in the 1920s. A lot was achieved especially after the 1952 revolution. That revolution changed social and economic realities. Eventually, the idea of co-education gained momentum and families developed ambitions to send their daughters to school and the job market. Then, in 1956, women acquired political rights. Over the last 30 years, women’s rights were codified in laws and in the constitution, but were not enjoined in reality. This was the main challenge facing women during the last 30 years. Since the early 1970s, there has been a wave of cultural regression and eventually many of women’s rights were shaken. Public opinion changed. People began to believe that women should not engage in politics and should not work and should dedicate their efforts to their families. Religious intransigence contributed to those ideas; religion was used to question women’s right to work and claim that their engagement in the job market contradicts with their main role as a mothers. Also, economic problems and job scarcity contributed to keeping women away from the job market. The society preferred that men should have priority for limited job opportunities. This cultural environment posed many challenges to women’s right as full citizens. Additionally, women were denied rights that they were still struggling to acquire; For example, their right to hold certain positions like judges was challenged. Women’s abilities to hold senior positions and to be part of sovereign state institutions were questioned. The main challenge that women faced over the last 30 years was how to activate rights that are legally codified in reality. Al-Masry: Earlier this week, women held a march to celebrate International Women’s Day but they were mocked and harassed. What is your assessment of that? Al-Gebali: Some political and regressive forces want to shake women’s rights that have already been achieved. These forces are hostile to women’s rights by definition. They felt threatened when they got wind of efforts to celebrate that day. This symbolic celebration was eventually besieged in order to prevent women from bringing their rights into the limelight at this revolutionary juncture. There are forces that want to cause a setback in this realm. Hence, we start hearing arguments such as: “Is this time for such demands? Do you want to cause more divisions?” Any group has the right to speak out loud about its own rights and make sure there is a national consensus over these rights. And it is not only women who are doing that--I saw protests by disabled people. The same is happening with religious minorities. Their rights came to the fore again in the wake of the recent sedition that is being imposed on us. Also, employees and workers are raising particular demands. Nobody can oppress voices that claim their rights. Each group should be allowed to express its grievances. This is part of democracy. Whoever refuses to listen to someone else, for the simple reason that he holds a different viewpoint, is violating democratic principles. Al-Masry: Some people say it is inappropriate for each group to hold marches or protests to promote its own demands at this critical moment. Some people are accusing these groups of thwarting the revolution. Al-Gebali: I do not agree with this opinion. These groups were part of the revolution and now as we are about to draw a map for Egypt’s future, they are grabbing people’s attention to their rights and issues. What is wrong with that? Also, there are rights that have to be instated immediately, including the right for a minimum wage. There is a final court verdict regarding this and the verdict is binding and must be respected. Why is the enforcement of this verdict being delayed? In the meantime, a wage ceiling should be enforced. Such a ceiling will leave us with a surplus of cash that we can use to finance minimum wages. In this case, nobody can claim that we are overloading the budget. If we make both decisions concurrently, things will be balanced. Al-Masry: How could women benefit from this new revolutionary juncture? Al-Gebali: I believe women should benefit from the revolutionary mode by stressing the rights that they have already gained and make sure there is no setback in this realm. Most of women’s rights are achieved legally and constitutionally. Yet, we should thwart attempts that aim at hindering the activation of these rights on the ground. " http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/347797 [/QB][/QUOTE]
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