The American University in Cairo School of Humanities and Social Sciences Gender politics in transition Women’s Political Rights in Egypt after the January 25 revolution A Thesis Submitted to The Department of Political Science In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts By Claudia Ruta Under the supervision of Dr. Pandeli Michel Glavanis February 2012 1 To my mother and my grandmother, to my mother-in-law, Leila, and to Maya. For their being women role models for me. For their being so different but so equally strong. For their being “the” woman who I aspire to become 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my family, my father, mother, and brother Francesco for having financed these studies, and for their constant encouragement, trust, and support, and for having experienced with me my doubts, satisfactions, and moments of tiredness with the love that only a family is able to give. Without the values of respect and tolerance that go beyond religions, cultures, and borders that they have transferred to me, I would not have been able to read about and live in the Middle East with the same eyes. I am grateful for their open-mindedness, and for having accepted the construction of a family based on inter-religious and inter-cultural values. I am immensely thankful to Ahmed, my husband, for being the man he is, respectful of women and their rights, and for representing the incarnation of true, genuine Islam. I thank you, Ahmed, for your assistance with this thesis, for having waited for me for so long, for having supported me in my days and nights of work and study with encouragement and esteem. I would also like to thank the Egyptian part of my family, my father- and mother-in-law, and my sisters-in-law, for their many prayers, fruitful debates, and for representing the true Egypt that I love so intensively. A special thank-you goes to my two little nephews, Yousef and Yasin, because I am sure that they will live in a new and better Egypt. I am extremely grateful to my thesis advisor, Dr. Pandeli Glavanis, for his incomparable support and for having believed in the thesis even when I was going to lose any hope that I might really finish it one day. Thank you, Professor, for the critical exercise we have conducted together, for your optimism and suggestions; thank you for your teachings about development and human rights. Thank you for having been beside me for these two endless years. I will bear them in mind for the 3 rest of my life. Also, I thank Dr. Ibrahim Elnur for his comments and suggestions and for his constant support during my studies at AUC. Shukran min samim al qalb to Dr. Maya Morsy for being a sister, a friend, and a confidant to me. Working with you is, for me, not only a child’s dream, but one of the most enriching and satisfying experiences of my life. Thank you for your trust, even when I was still not fully formed, for you support and training, and for our daily exchange of lessons learned. I am also indebted to all my colleagues and friends, Nora, Sally, Rana, Menna, Hoda, Caroline, Noha, Fatma, Iman, and Doaa, for their encouragement and patience, and for having supported my continual complaints. From each one of you, I am learning something special day after day, learning how to be a better person; thank you for making me feel at home. Thank you, Nora, for your optimism, and your intense love for your country. I am really learning from you how to respect mine a bit more. Thanks for your “pearls of wisdom” and the funny moments we have spent together. Thanks to all my friends (Estella, Giulia, Alice, Andrea, Nadia, Yossri, Ernesto, Ester, Federica, Miriam, Alessandro, Elisa, Andrea, Sebastiano, Lucia, Margherita, Nadia, Tegan, Javi, Atef, Sameh, Kieran, Michael and many, many others), who have been part of my Egyptian experience, for sharing together the same passion for the Arab world, its culture, and language, and for the pleasant conversations, exchange of visions, and moments spent together in the last years. Thanks to Marye for our long hours of study together and for the unforgettable moments we have spent together during the M.A. Thanks to all the other students of AUC as well. 4 I am absolutely grateful to all those who participated in this research, for having opened to me the doors of their homes, and for the fruitful exchanges on inter-cultural visions that we have shared. A special thank-you goes to the Egyptian youth of the Italian Cultural Center, because they taught me a lot and have Egypt in their eyes. Special thanks go to Fatma, Hala, and Soaad for their help with the interviews and translations. Thanks also to Linda, Silvia, Laura, Michele, Giovanna, Valentina and to the other friends of Ancona for the deepness of our friendship and for being always there for me when I need you. Thank you Lindsay for the great job you have done in editing this thesis. Finally, thanks to those endless list of people who, in one way or another, have helped me in this research with contacts, information, and material. Without your help, this thesis would not have been of the same solidity and quality. Finally, many thanks to Ramses, my little and inseparable cat, for your infinite sweetness and for the joyful moments we have spent together. A huge thank-you goes to Egypt, its colors, sounds, and lights, and to its people, both women and men of peace who lost their lives reaching a dream. I thank them for their strength and courage, from which all of us should really learn. Tahya masr! 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS 8 GLOSSARY 9 ABSTRACT 12 I. INTRODUCTION 14 1.1 Research problem, objectives and hypothesis 14 1.3 Academic and social relevance of the research 18 1.4 Thesis’ methodology and structure of the field work analysis 21 1.5 Thesis structure 29 II. NATIONAL LIBERATIONS, ENGENDERED TRANSITIONS & DEMOCRATIC DEMANDS: A CENTURY OF WOMEN’S ACTIVISM IN EGYPT AND ABROAD 31 PART ONE 32 2.1 The case of Maghreb: women in Algeria and Morocco between resistance and liberation 32 2.2 The quiet revolt of Iranian women under the Islamic Republic 37 2.3 The successful model of South Africa: the women’s movement and the gendered political struggle for democracy 41 2.4 Politicizing feminism in Chile: the transition to democracy after Pinochet’s regime 45 2.5 Sub-conclusion 48 PART TWO 51 2.1 Early signs of women activism in the Arab world: the reformist resurgence 51 2.2 1919: Egyptian women between national-activism and political segregation 53 2.3 From Nasser to Sadat: women’s rights amidst Pan-arabism and infitah 58 2.4 Women’s rights during Mubarak’s time 64 2.5 Sub-conclusion 70 III. WOMEN AMIDST POLITICAL ACTIVISM, AND THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF POST-MUBARAK EGYPT 72 3.1 The awakening of Arab dignity: the case of Egypt, triggers, and causes 73 3.2 A modern thawra: the making of a revolution 77 3.3 Taking to the streets: 2011 like1919 81 3.4 Women & politics in the transition: missing the gains of the revolution 84 3.5 Back to an old Egypt: the case of March 8 94 3.6 Claiming their space: the revival of gender-based coalitions and groups 98 3.7 An emerging force: women of the Muslim Brotherhood 104 6 3.8 Suzanne Mubarak like Jihan Sadat: clashes over the Personal Status Laws 110 3.9 Sub-conclusion 116 IV. EGYPTIANS SPEAK: SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE POLITICAL TRANSITION 118 4.1 Results of the empirical study 119 4.1.1 Egyptians on women’s participation in the revolution 120 4.1.2 Women and Tahrir square: reflecting on March 8 123 4.1.3 Can women lead in Egypt? An analysis 124 4.1.4 Maintaining or abolishing the quota system in Parliament 130 4.1.5 A social reading of Egyptian feminist groups 133 4.1.6 Debating the Personal Status Laws: the khul’, the custody law, and the legal age of marriage 137 4.1.7 Political Islam: perceptions of the Muslim Brothers and the Salafist movement 140 4.2 Addressing women’s social difficulties and their causes 142 4.3 Quick notes on personal observations of the focus group discussions 145 4.4 Sub-conclusion 148 V. CONCLUDING ANALYSIS 151 5.1 Feminist activism and its impasse: reasons and lessons learned 151 5.2 After January 25th: which revolution for women? 158 5.3 The unchanged nature of the Egyptian society 162 5.4 A new beginning? 167 5.5 Need of further research 169 REFERENCES 171 LIST OF APPENDIXES 189 Appendix I: Chronology of major events 199 Appendix II: Groups and women’s movement formed after the revolution 194 Appendix III: Egyptian’s Women Charter 196 Appendix IV: List of interviewed experts 198 Appendix V: Topics discussed during the semi-structured interviews 200 Appendix VI: Topic-list focus group discussion 200 Appendix VII: Survey results & figures 201 LIST OF TABLES Table n.1: Interview participants 25 Table n.2: Respondents Focus-group 1 27 Table n.3: Respondents Focus-group 2 27 Table n.4: Respondents Focus-group 3 27 Table n.5: Family Focus-group 4 27 7 ABBREVIATIONS AAW Alliance for Arab Women ACT Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development ADEW The Association for Development and Enhancement of Women ANC African National Congress AWSA Arab Women Solidarity Association BWA Bureau of Women’s Affairs CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CEWLA Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance CSO Civil Society Organizations ECWR Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights EFU Egyptian Feminist Union FEDTRAW Federation of Transvaal Women FIS Islamic Salvation Front FLN National Liberation Front FMG Female Genital Mutilation GDP Gross Domestic Product IAEA