Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Presidential hopeful Muhammad Salīm al-'Awā said he agreed that an elected president of the republic may be a Copt or a woman as long as this is the will of the people in free fair elections. [Māhir Najīb, al-Akhbār, December 13, 2011, p. 1] Read the original text in Arabic

Cairo was ranked first among the governorates of Egypt according to levels of violence against women during the month of July, which reported the highest rate of violence with 10 incidents, followed by the provinces Qalyubiya, Giza and Alexandria. 

 Tahrir square and other revolution squares are filled with women demanding their privileges, meanwhile, Islamists [mainly salafists, al-Jamā'ah al-Islāmīyah and the Muslim Brotherhood party] are preparing their upcoming legislative agenda.

The laws, concerning women, drummed up interest from political Islam movements, especially the divorce law [al-Khol'], al-Ro'yah law [visitation or contact law, regulating the visits of a non-custodial parent for his/her child], and personal status law. Al-Ro'yah law was the most firmly rejected.

Anouk Soomers, a researcher, came from The Netherlands to research the status of women in Egypt both before and after the revolution. She met with AWR's Managing Director, Mr. Hānī Labīb, who helped her with some contacts from whome she can benefit in her ongoing PhD research.

A conference was held in Cairo on 10 April 2011 by the Coalition of Women's Organizations, a non-governmental group.

The purpose was to stress the importance of the role of women in democracy building.

At the conference Bothaina Kamel, a well-known TV host, stressed that a woman is capable of being president.

However, she found that the agenda of women's organizations is rarely unified and that there is no common strategic approach.

The revolution has inspired many young Egyptian people who dream of social justice. They could achieve this by forming a political party or by leading a peaceful demonstrations.

The revolution has sparked their sincerity and their loyalty to the country. Young Egyptians want to be one of the revolutionaries or dream of becoming a politician helping citizens, in order to make their country a better place.

Khalīl summarizes the Constitutional Court's ruling that forces Pope Shenouda III to issue remarriage permits to divorced Copts, despite the Church's position against doing so.

Yūsuf Sidhum tackles the issue of women’s inheritances in traditional modern day Egyptian society. He argues that contemporary Egyptians should revere women, as did their ancient Egyptian ancestors. Specifically, Sidhum argues that women should have equal rights to inheritances.

The author discusses religion and its relation to woman's protection in Egyptian society. He presents some opinions concerning the issue, saying that some feel that religion helps them to find a job and others disagree. Some specialists assure that religion doesn't prevent divorce and a famous writer confirms that the Egyptian society is satisfied with religiousness.

Keywords: Religion in Egyptian society

The Ministry of Family and Population continues to make efforts against circumcision of females by teaming up with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, The German - Egyptian Cooperation Agency, and the Dutch embassy. The new program includes a comprehensive vision on the medical, religious, and social aspects of circumcision, as well as activating a law criminalizing the act.

Key Words: The Ministry of Family and Population - Mushīrah Khattāb – The Ministry of Health – Dr. Hātim al-Jabalī – Dr. Vivian Fu’ād – UNICEF - The German - Egyptian Cooperation Agency - Dutch embassy – Hātim Bajātū