The Women’s Political Status In Mubarak Era

The Egyptian feminism generated from the process of fighting for the nationalindependence. During this period, feminism was placed entirely under theframework of nationalism. The status of women improved much after the realindependence of Egypt and they began to participate in politics broadly. Nasser andSadat implemented many measures to promote women’s status, but these measureswere influenced by the authoritarianism and national interests of Egypt. Mubarak’swomen policy inherited these principles.Since Mubarak era, women participated in economy and these activitiesencouraged them to take part in the politics. The government of Mubarak introducemany measures of laws and social security to promote the status of women. Inaddition, the rapid development of women’s NGOs was prominent and improvedtheir awareness of political participation. However, the Mubarak regime restrictedwomen’s political participation and made use of them. They did not take women’sinterests into account and could not change women’s status fundamentally. Theauthoritarianism of Egypt restricts women’s political participation. Egyptian womenplayed a positive role in the current upheaval, hoping to change their social status ofbeing oppressed, discriminated and restricted. But after the upheaval, the road tofight for women’s rights in Egypt seems to be more difficult.When it comes to the plight of women, both history and realistic factors shouldbe taken into consideration. Most importantly, the tradition of Islam which rooted inEgypt deeply, the rise of the political Islam and the national patriarchy of Egypt setthe roles of women in every area. Women could not break out these restrictions; Theinadequate participation in the economy hindered their political involvement; Theinfluence of colonialism and the resistance of women themselves also blocked theimprovement of the women’s status. All in all, the interests of women subordinatedto the national interests. After the revolution, women’s voices still can not be heardand the road to their liberation is doomed to be hard.