By Hania Sholkamy
On
March 8th 2011 a small number of civil society and development professionals
along with a few students and academics staged a celebration of International
Women’s Day in Tahrir square. This was a month after the fall of Mubarak and
the assumption of control by the army. It was a time of seemingly infinite
possibility and boundless liberation. It therefore came as a surprise when the
few hundred huddled in the middle of the square were berated, ridiculed and
finally chased into the side streets and physically attacked. This was the first appearance of what would
later come to be known as the ‘third’ or ‘invisible’ hand- the hand that later
tormented and killed hundreds of protestors. This hand is assumed to be
operated either by the old establishment, or by the military or by Egyptians
fed up with protestors: in short, it is the hand of counter revolutionary
elements! However there was little sympathy for those attacked in the square.
Progressive political groups were un-interested in questions of gender equality
and justice.
A
year later, on the 8 March 2012, a grand demonstration took place in Cairo.
There were feminist, human rights activists, political parties from the
socialists to the social democrats, pioneers from the 9th March movement for
academic freedoms and members of Kifaya . Thousands showed up and marched from
the Egyptian journalists’ syndicate to Parliament, winding their way down the
heart of Cairo and through Tahrir square holding up banners demanding equal
representation for women in the yet to be selected constitutional committee,
and registering their anger at proposed changes to personal status laws which
could mean that Egyptian women will lose some of their rights.
What
a difference a year can make! Women’s human rights have over the past year gone
from oblivion and ignominy to becoming a cause celebre of the people. This past
week there were daily chat shows on television celebrating women inviting
labour activists, socialists, feminists, and scholars of Islam to discuss
gender-based rights and women’s representation. There were also celebrations to
honour veterans from the field of women’s activism, and Angham, one of Egypt’s
leading divas sang a specially composed song that praises women as ‘half the world”. Missing from these celebrations and
demonstrations was the strongest and largest political force in Egypt, the
Muslim Brotherhood and their Freedom and Justice Party.
The
Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) organized a seminar and an all-day conference
on the subject, during which they distanced themselves and their position on
women’s issues from the rest of the women’s movement. The women’s committee of
the party has begun to formulate a gender narrative that focuses on the
sanctity of the family, and on women’s reproductive roles and responsibilities.
They have condemned the changes made to personal status laws over the past
decade, taking a populist position that panders to the public’s perceptions -
or misperceptions - of so-called
‘Suzanne Mubarak’s laws’. These are the
legislative reforms that that have enabled women to exit bad marriages, keep
custody of their children beyond the ages of 7 years for boys and 9 years for
girls, travel without having to get their husband’s consent for each journey,
and to contest gender based discriminations through the office of an ombudsman
and the intercessions of a national machinery for women. These laws were
changed seemingly by presidential fiat and appropriated by Mubarak’s entourage,
but in fact were achieved by the slow and accumulated efforts of national,
regional and global feminist and human rights lobbies and groups.
The
FJP have been harping on nationalism and patriarchal pride. They have projected
the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as a
global ‘American’ conspiracy to destroy the Egyptian Family and to impose
western morality. Various young women aligned to the party have appeared on
television and in public events making similar claims. This seems to be an
opinion that pervades the FJP circles.
Moreover
the party has vehemently condemned the newly appointed National Council for
Women, and has withdrawn their own member of Parliament who was amongst the 30
members of the newly appointed board. They have plans to turn the national
women’s machinery into a council for the family. Their frustrations with the
Council were expressed recently - albeit in an unfortunately exaggerated
gesture - when they protested the
absence of Mervat el Tellawy from a panel discussion on women’s status on March
5th 2012. Ms Tellawy did not show up because she was on
the tarmac of Shannon airport after her
flight from New York to Cairo experienced engine failure, and made an emergency
landing in Ireland. This, by all accounts, constitutes a case
of ‘force majeure’; however the good sisters stormed out ↑ of the hall shouting
abuse at the Council and at Ms. Tellawy .
The
FJP are not alone in their opposition to the National Council for Women.
Secular feminists and socialists have also condemned the new council. They have
voiced concerns regarding the names of appointees, and were against the way in
which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) made the appointments
without consultation; the SCAF did not even consult the appointees themselves.
But this is as far the convergence between secular and religious women
activists go. Other than sharing a
condemnation of the NCW (for different reasons - both substantive and
procedural), the Muslim Sisters and the women’s movement share little else.
The
FJP narrative is Islamic in its reference points but has little to do with
Islamic reformism or feminism. It is a narrative that is conservative and
constrained by the deference of the women of FJP to the male members of their
party. This is not only a disappointment for most observers, but is also a
major problem for the FJP itself. Rather than expending some effort to forge
alliances with women’s groups from civil society and other political parties to
address obstacles to gender justice and to social rights, they have made common
cause with their male party members
against the agenda of activists and women’s right proponents. They have chosen an oppositional stance and
condemned reforms for gender justice without really sharing their own ideas or
consulting their peers on their program. At best this may reflect a lack of
networking capabilities on their part; but at worst it could be a sign of
elitism and sense of superiority. The sisters have chosen to remain under the
wing of their triumphant brothers rather than dialogue with their diverse
sisters from a rainbow of political orientations and positions! They have also
ignored the venerable tradition of reformism within the theological discourses
of Islam. Feminists like Omaima Abu Bakr, and theologians like Amna Nosseir are
two of many who are searching for progressive interpretations of scriptures
that can become a foundation upon which Muslim women can launch their activism.
The women of FJP have yet to share their own theological and social program, or
to reveal their biases and political positions. So far they seem to be keen on
conforming with their party line, which is insensitive to issues of gender
equality and justice.
The
FJP have not inspired women but rather have frightened them. It is to them, I
think, that we owe the robust demonstrations of this year. By failing to
champion women’s rights they have made the general public, rights movements,
and political parties, wake up to the women’s cause and take to the streets and
the airwaves.
Now
another opportunity presents itself for the FJP women’s committee to show some
leadership. The cases of forced virginity tests performed on women
demonstrators under detention have created public outrage. The verdict in the
Samira Ibrahim ↑ case - a young woman who pressed charges against her
aggressors - was announced and a
military court pronounced the doctor, who performed the virginity test on this
young woman when she was in custody last year, innocent ↑ .
Will
the FJP - and the Muslim Sisters - side with Samira, or will it ignore this
brave woman’s fight for the sanctity of her body?
-This commentary was published by Open Democracy on 14/03/2012
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