The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners        

Egyptian Institute for Training and Human Rights

Cairo: 26/7/2004
 

The participants in the Second Seminar on “Woman’s Conditions Reform” asserts the continuation of assault on woman’s rights in spite of the exerted efforts to protect them

The participants in the seminar of "Woman Conditions Reform" called upon parties and civil society organizations and unions to enhance and activate woman's role in these organizations setting woman cases in its due place in different activities and programs.

Although these discussions unveiled various concerns of some proceedings in cases of woman conditions reform, these discussions warned of general weakness in concerns of parties, unions and civil society organizations concerning this case and its regression and treating with it within the limits of marginal cases.

The human rights association for the assistance of prisoners and the Arab institute for training and human rights held the second intellectual salon the day before yesterday that was entitled "woman conditions reform … is it the problem of society or elite?". The seminar was attended by prominent female figures in the national council for woman and women associations and unions and parties leaders.

The discussions exposed many regressive aspects in protecting woman's rights in spite of the exerted efforts from governmental bodies and civil society organizations. Dr. Fatma Khafagy "the rapporteur of complaints committee in the national council for woman" declared that discrimination against woman is clearer in the governmental and general sector than private sector. She said also that the grievances the council receives reveal the spread of the phenomenon of violence and discrimination against woman and not benefiting from many laws that protect her either because of the absence of awareness of these laws or gaps that impede the enforcement of its provisions that protect her especially in personal status field.

The participated organizations called for reconsidering the methodology of tackling woman's conditions and criticized the absence of the impressive role of woman in society. Moreover, she alluded that did not give till now a distinguished model increasing the support of society to her cases.

The journalist Farida Al Nakkash "head of woman's meetings" warned of the hazard of separating between woman's problems and society cases. She also declared that dealing with woman conditions reform needs by technical conceptions and amending laws only would not achieve the desired goals.

She revealed in her intervention regarding aspects other than depicting the problem and its reasons that reflected on the nature and mechanism of different initiatives aiming at reforming woman’s conditions. She also asserted that the whole society with its all categories is an important partner in assisting woman to achieve her societal role. She alluded that the external initiatives emerged from the basis of defending the foreign benefits in the Arab region and inserted the woman case away from its normal supremacy considering it part from society cases.

The writer Amina Shafik declared the direct relation between the modern economic policies and the regression of woman rights in work and contracting her participating role in development operation. She also referred to the high percentage of idles in women than men and revealed the regression of the rate of women's salaries compared with men and regression of her share in work available in private sectors to 5% per year.

Woman's problems have enlarged in aspects related to inheritance and the right to possess farms. She also expressed her fears of low agricultural production in future because of woman's role regression in the agricultural production and asserted that the case of woman's conditions reform exceeded law problems to crisis of society and its solutions are connected to problems of democracy and changing society culture.

Dr. Amal Abdel Hady "head of the New Woman Institute" criticized harshly the government, parties and different unions. She also alluded to the regression of her concern in the case of woman's conditions reform in spite of large space of the political talk in this case recently. She declared also that the announced declarations in society lack the political willing to increase woman's contributions to society development.

She also alluded that the regression of elite role and its weak impact before different thoughts and ideas and the increase of its influence in popular culture. She also stressed on the necessity of modernizing the religious call and reassessing the social culture.

Discussion tackled the issue of the notable regression of woman role in unions, which most of them are devoid of woman presence.

The journalist Manal Agrama referred to the existence of true confidence in elite-based in woman's role in addition to weakness of awareness of the case. There is a shortage in female cadres qualified to work beside the absence of means of exchanging experience. She also accused the political alliances, which veil part of responsibility in unions' elections, of minimizing woman role in union activities.

Mr. Mahmoud Murtada "director of the Alternative Development Center" referred to other aspects. He referred to expanding the operation of woman's conditions reform including contrast between the political talk announced by different proceedings and their activity. He also alluded to the smallness of knowledge studies to know the origin of the problem. The shortage in projects of woman's rehabilitation besides determining the nature of small projects which woman can deal with to improve her economic and social conditions missing the weakness of parties role, elite and civil society in offering practical prospects to face this problem.

The great actor Hamdy Ahmed tackled the impact of art on woman picture in society referring that the majority of work of art reveal woman imperfectly, minimizing her role in society in addition to the importance of her role in work, and assaulting on her rights by indicating the passive aspects and embodying in humiliating view to satisfy lusts and asserting the importance of creating change in the dominant culture and correcting art role to protect woman's rights.

Mr. Salah Soliman "the Secretary of the delegation body" talked about the deficiency of the role of female elite to affiliate with society with different means. He also referred to her indifference with elections and preferring keeping away of general work. He also called upon different female bodies to strike a balance between woman role in constructing family and her social role, and reconsidering her schedule in woman cases to be connected to society needs perfectly.

The chairpersons concluded with the following recommendations:

·         Asserting the direct relation between woman conditions reform and democratic, economic and cultural cases of society and not satisfying with developing and amending legislations and laws.

·         Endeavoring to set particular prospects to establish an impressive and true female movement that exceed concerns of elite to affect on it and spread among different social categories.

·         The necessity to create new methodology to increase the legal awareness of woman's rights and monitoring legal breaches that lead to distinction in her rights.

·         Calling upon the government to reconsider the ministerial the decisions that organize woman's missions.

·         Increasing means of receiving complaints and creating more serious methodology to be studied and dealt with to restore confidence to Egyptian woman.

·         Calling upon parties, unions and civil society institutes to enhance the presence of woman and leader figures and paying more attention by letting her participate in different activities.

·         Asserting the importance of reconsidering the educational process, and renewing the religious message to firm up the correct and true conception of woman and her importance role in development process.

·         Asserting the necessity of confronting the regressive and adverse culture of woman rights and reforming her conditions and calling the representative of art to change their work of art humiliating woman's role in society to correct her picture and taking part in exerted efforts to restore the woman's role in society perfectly.