Q How has the past year affected Egypt’s women and minorities, including Copts, Nubians and so on? Do you think their rights are in jeopardy?
A It is a two-way situation. In one way there has been some [channelling of] frustration and anger at them. [This is] reflected by the damage that has happened to some churches, which antagonized the Copts, and [the attack on the] demonstration in Maspero.

I think it is a scandal. In another way, the revolution has encouraged minorities to come out and ask for their rights. They are becoming stronger, which is better than before.
 
Q How far are we from the demands of the revolution in terms of societal issues?
A We are still far: The head of Egypt has been toppled, but we have the same political system, the same economic system and other problems such as security issues.

Those who were leaders of the previous system came back in the elections. Where is the social justice? Democracy? And where is the dignity? We are still very far from these.

It is not going to be solved piecemeal [with people just going on] strike. There have to be fundamental changes in the political system, in the economic system, in the social contract and in the security system. [There has to be a bold] comprehensive overhaul.

You can’t say we have to abide by the old Constitution and the law [then turn around and say] no, this is a revolution, it is different, civilians have to be tried in military courts.

It can’t be like this, it is a double standard. A revolution is a revolution, and in many revolutions there is blood. We are not asking for blood, but we cannot abide by the old groups and ideas.

Things have to move much faster than they are, and some daring legislation or measures have to be taken. For example, the taxation system has to change, the levels of taxation have to be graduated and it has to be done soon.

Q Has the revolution helped laws concerning women and society? Do you think there is improvement?
A On the contrary, when I look back and see the committee that advanced the first formulation of the principles of the revolution, there were no women on that. This is a setback.

There were three women ministers in the cabinet, now there are two. This is a setback. The decreasing numbers of women on any committee being formulated for public debates — you can count them on the fingers of one hand.

The National Council for Women has been frozen now, we don’t hear anything about it.

Until now I am not seeing any drastic measures that have been taken for social justice, neither for the poor nor for women.

The only positive things that have happened are the national convention, held June 4, which produced a charter for the demands of women, and the revival of the Feminist Union, which was first established by Hoda Shaarawy in 1923 and then was dissolved by the 1952 Revolution.

But if we go back to history, we always find that after a revolution, there is an effort from men to push women back and in many times women fall back.

We shouldn’t consider what is happening to women now as an exception. History is just repeating itself. We have to fight.

Q Can women play a role in shaping post-revolution Egypt? What do you see as the main obstacles?
A Egypt is a very patriarchal society. But with 25% of Egyptian families headed by females and 2 million children in the labor market — girls as maids, boys in workshops, in factories and so on — the idealistic picture of the Egyptian family headed by a male provider is shaken.

Still, men want to keep their superiority. They don’t have the means to do so, so they react with violence against their wives, their children and even against each other.

There is an increasing degree of violence in our society, particularly against women, and sexual harassment is a reflection of that violence.

The problem is that men are not diagnosing the situation right. The right diagnosis is that it is the capitalistic economic system that does not provide working opportunities for everybody.

So instead of directing their anger and frustration against society to change the economic system, they are diverting their anger and frustration toward women as if women are taking the jobs from them.

The situation is not acceptable.

I think there are urgent things that need to happen between now and the end of the elections and the [writing of] the Constitution, because the new Constitution has to be gender sensitive.

Parallel to that, the existing economic system is not working. We need a new system that provides job opportunities, that doesn’t create gaps between the rich and the poor, and that doesn’t exclude anybody from economic opportunities.

What the revolution was calling for — democracy, social justice, equality and dignity — does not necessarily mean that this will be achieved by all members of society equally.

Because women are always discriminated against, unless there is some specific work that women will do, these principles of the revolution are not going to trickle down to women.

Women have to fight, they have to be powerful and demand their human rights, to be partners in building society. You cannot build a society with half of the population excluded.

The revolution is not going to work for us, we have to work for ourselves. Nobody is going to do anything for us. Rights are not going to be given as charity.

Q How do you think the change of Egypt’s regime will affect the role of women?
A If the rumors that the military council is going to stay in power are true, then the military is very patriarchal. Within the system, women can be nurses, for example, but not decision-makers or in leadership positions. This can be one [scenario], but hopefully not. Hopefully, there will be a government, and it will be a matter of a power transaction.

How much power will women have? Women have power because they are half the population, but unless they are organized, it is not power. Women were represented just before the revolution in leadership posts, but not in large numbers.

To be powerful, we have to be represented in large numbers.

Q W hat are the steps women need to take to ensure full participation in Egypt’s future?
A The new Feminist Union is going to work on changing some legislation, such as the family law, particularly articles that relate to polygamy, divorce and custody of children, among others.

It will also try to support female law school graduates trying to enter the judicial system, the first step of the ladder. Just before the revolution, there were voices calling for the reversal of the decision to appoint women as judges.

But if you think about the ongoing religious fundamentalist wave, which has been getting stronger after the revolution, the number of women in the coming Parliament will be very low.

Those in Parliament will mostly represent the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood, and this will lead to a setback in legislation relating to women. New legislation will restrict women. This scenario doesn’t satisfy anybody who has any kind of intelligence.

Q Now that the elections are in full swing and it appears we’re on the eve of an Islamist government, how will society be affected?
A If things go the way they went in the first round, I don’t think there will be a sizeable number of women in Parliament.

It will be worse than before, and that will affect the legislation comes out of Parliament.

When the Islamists felt that they gained a sizeable number of votes, they started coming out with statements they hadn’t made before, saying there will be no tourism, no interest on bank loans, women should stay at home.

I hope that people have realized what the Islamists’ real agenda is.

Their real agenda will really damage Egypt’s economy. It’s not women’s rights only, they are also going to damage Egypt’s economy. et