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Egyptian Women Play Remarkable Role in Elections

Egyptian women in Cairo on Saturday waiting to vote in the referendum on constitutional amendments. (EPA)
Egyptian women in Cairo on Saturday waiting to vote in the referendum on constitutional amendments. (EPA)
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Egyptian Women Play Remarkable Role in Elections

Egyptian women in Cairo on Saturday waiting to vote in the referendum on constitutional amendments. (EPA)
Egyptian women in Cairo on Saturday waiting to vote in the referendum on constitutional amendments. (EPA)

Women voting in the referendum on constitutional amendments in Egypt stressed their willingness to be part of the development in their country.

“I voted for the continuation of the construction, development and anti-terror process in Egypt,” said Nabila Hassan, a woman in her 60s, in front of a polling station in Ghamra, central Cairo.

“Although I'm feeling ill, I decided to go to the polling station early Saturday,” she added.

This remarkable scene was repeated in polling stations throughout the country.

Egyptian women led the event by arriving from early hours to vote. Observers linked the “heavy female turnout in all poll stations to the gains achieved by women and their growing awareness of the importance of participation.”

First Lady Entissar el Sisi cast her ballot in El-Shaheed Yousry Emara School in Heliopolis while Jehan Sadat, widow of former president Anwar Sadat, voted in the Ministry of Agriculture’s commission in Dokki district in Giza governorate.

Dr. Noha Bakr, a political studies professor in the American University in Cairo, told Asharq Al-Awsat that women’s heavy turnout in elections is mainly due to their nature, awareness of their social and family responsibilities and their interest in the future of their children and families.

“The remarkable participation of women on January 25, 2011, and June 30, 2013 revolutions highlight women’s awareness of the importance of positive participation,” she explained.

“The political gains achieved by women in recent years have also created a strong incentive.”

The Egyptian woman has made many political achievements since the January 25th revolution. Women MPs in the House of Representatives have amounted to about 90, and there are eight female ministers in the current government.

The amendments proposed to create a quota setting women’s representation in parliament at a minimum of 25 percent.

According to the amended Article (102, Paragraph 1), women will be given one-fourth of the number of Parliament seats.

“The House of Representatives shall consist of at least 450 members, elected through direct and secret ballots. At least quarter the number of the parliamentary seats shall be given to women,” read the article, which was approved by Egypt’s House of Representatives during a public discussion and voting session.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.