Omaima Kamil: Freedom and Justice Party Promotes Egyptian Women Welfare, Wants National Council to Fulfill Demands, Restore Usurped Rights

Omaima Kamil: Freedom and Justice Party Promotes Egyptian Women Welfare, Wants National Council to Fulfill Demands, Restore Usurped Rights

 Dr. Omaima Kamil, member of the General Conference of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), asserted that the way the new formation of the National Council for Women (NCW) was managed was shrouded in mystery and secrecy, adding that there had been no consultations with Egyptian political parties, forces, stakeholders or female activists and experts before the announcement of that new NCW formation.

 

Earlier, the FJP rejected the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF)’s decision to restructure the NCW without prior consultation with the country’s political parties, forces and stakeholders, and stated that the new NCW would not serve the interests of the nation or fulfill the goals of the revolution as far as Egyptian women were concerned.



Dr. Omaima Kamil – in a telephone call with the TV program the "Al-Ashira Masaa" on the Egyptian satellite channel ‘Dream 2’ – said that the aspirations of the FJP for Egyptian women and their issues are greater than could be achieved by the thirty members appointed in the new NCW without any selection criteria, with no clarification of the reasons why NCW members were selected for candidacy, and without even contacting those women to find out if they were interested in the nomination for the NCW.


Further, Omaima, who is Professor of Public Health at the University of Cairo, expressed dissatisfaction with voting results achieved by women in the recent People’s Assembly and Shura Council elections, noting that the party believes women were placed at the end of the various parties’ candidate/electoral lists, mainly to meet legal conditions that stipulate presence of women candidates.


Moreover, Omaima criticized the current NCW, describing it as a ‘token’ council that does not meet the aspirations of Egyptian women, cannot fulfill their needs, and merely serves as a consultative council for the executive branch with regard to women’s issues, with no power to implement its own decisions. She also stressed that the first signs from the new NCW are not promising, since there were no communication between SCAF and any of the candidates whose names have been declared in the formation of the new NCW.


Dr. Omaima Kamil noted that post-revolution NCW’s vision and strategy must be truly representative of Egyptian women, and that it must reconsider all decisions taken by the previous NCW, and put those up for public discussion, in order to achieve the goals and wishes of Egyptian women, and restore all their usurped rights.