News
The Women Human Rights Defenders program at Nazra for Feminist Studies is launching its manual on Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) tailored specifically for an Egyptian context.
The manual includes sections on Egyptian legislation and military verdicts used to constrain public action; regional and international mechanisms that WHRDs can utilize to report violations committed against them; and security tips that can be of special use during perilous circumstances.
Nazra is a partner organisation to KVINFO.
Read more at Nazra for Women's Studies.
In Morocco, women have achieved impressive gains over the past decades, both legally and economically, and the human development index shows clear improvements in a wide range of areas, namely girl’s access to schooling or a decline in maternal mortality.
But why do women in Morocco play such a small part in the political, economic and social arenas?
Read more at Global Arab Network.
For the office in Rabat, Morocco, KVINFO - the Danish Centre for Information on Gender, Equality and Diversity - is looking for a new Programme Adviser.
Deadline for applications: June 3rd 2013.
Read the announcement here.
“One lesson from the 1979 Iranian revolution and the 2011 Arab revolutions is that activists seeking to promote women’s rights, human rights and the transition to democracy must challenge patriarchy from within the Muslim legal tradition.”
So writes Ziba Mir-Hosseini, a legal anthropologist and a founding member of Musawah Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family.
Read more at OpenDemocracy.
To combat the predominant mindset contributing to the failure of women in the workforce, the Qatar Career Fair recently hosted its second lecture, The working women in Qatar: professional aspirations and social traditions.
More Qatari women have university degrees than men, yet female participation in the workforce is only 35 percent, well below the national percentages in developed countries.
Read more at Arabian Gazette.
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt was ruled by president Hosni Mubarak for 30 years from 1981 to 2011. On January 25 2011 the Egyptian people succeeded in ousting the president, and the military took over power and rule of the country.
The first elections for a new parliament took place between November 2011 and January 2012, and presidential elections are scheduled for May 23-24 2012. It is uncertain how the new elected parliament will and can carry through reforms in all domains - political, economic and social - and if and how women’s rights will be affected by the change.
| Total population (2011 est. ) | 82,079,636 |
| Female population (2011 est.) | 40,497,120 |
Total 0-14 years | |
Total 15-64 years | |
Total 65 years and over |
| Life expectancy at birth (women): (2011 est) | 75,38 years |
| Fertility rate (2011 est) | 2,97 children born/woman |
| Total literacy rate (2011 est) | 71,4 % |
| Total literacy rate among females (2005 est.) | 59,4% |
| School life expectancy ( primary to tertiary education) (2004) | 11 years |
| Female enrolment at higher education* | 49 pct |
*Higher education is the degree after achieving the high-school diploma
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By Nadia Zaabi & Rikke Hostrup Haugbølle