the position of women in the work field in Egypt :: essays research papers

Women represent 49% of the Egyptian population. In 1956, the Constitution granted Egyptian women unconditional equal socio-political rights, thus crowning their struggle with success. Egyptian women participate in the process of development, assume the national responsibilities mentioned in the Constitution, and benefit from full legal rights that allow them to contribute in all aspects of the development process, either in the field of production or in services, according to their capabilities and skills. However, women participation in public life remains limited. This is due to a number of socio-economic and cultural factors that would tend to create a bias against females in some aspects of life, establishing thus a gender gap. Women in my country have become full partners in decision-making, and have proved themselves competent as doctors, surgeons, members of parliament, government ministers, entrepreneurs and pilots, all working alongside men for the sake of progress and development in Egypt. H.E. President Hosni Mubarak issued the Presidential Decree No. 90 for the year 2000 for the creation of the National Council for Women, as an autonomous body responsible for the empowerment of the Egyptian women. Certain fields of work have only been made accessible to women recently, such as the judiciary, and their presence in others, such as police and defense, is only symbolic. Although women have been appointed to certain political posts recently for the first time, such as: the first Judge in the Supreme Constitutional Court, the first President of the Administrative Prosecution Authority, the first head of a local council, the first chief of a village â€Å"Omda†, other posts are still resisting cultural changes like governor, rector of a university, or even a sitting judge in ordinary courts. Similarly, women have been allowed to hold military positions in the army.