Cairo: Women are underestimated in running for the upcoming parliamentary elections, the first to be held since long-standing president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, according to a report.
Several political parties, formed after the anti-Mubarak revolt, have paid no attention to fielding women on their tickets in the elections due to begin later this month, said the report released yesterday by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights, a non-governmental group.
‘Crippling' conditions
The report said traditional parties, fielding women in the three-round elections, are half-hearted about female representation in the new parliament.
A number of women hoping to stand have opted to quit the race due to ‘crippling' conditions set by the parties for their nomination, says the report. Other hopefuls had to bow out after receiving anonymous threats or due to the growing clout of fundamentalist powers in post-Mubarak Egypt, it said.
Citing meagre candidacy of women in the upcoming elections, the report noted female contenders make up 15 per cent of the total candidates fielded by Al Wafd, Egypt's oldest liberal party, and nine per cent on the tickets of Al Nour (Light), a Salafist party formed after the anti-Mubarak uprising.
"Although I am disappointed, this report comes as no surprise," said Nawal Hamad, an activist.
"The other day one Salafist politician described the presence of women in the parliament as a sort of corruption. "Women are among the Egyptians who have not yet made gains from the revolution."
