Can new 'women’s government' advance gender equality in Egypt?
The Egyptian Heritage and Traditional Arts Association has launched a “parallel government” comprising almost entirely of women in a move aimed at promoting public participation of female figures in the country.
In a step aimed at promoting the role of women in Egyptian society, a “parallel” women’s government, the first of its kind, was announced in mid-July, dubbed the Egyptian Women’s Government.
A statement issued just before the official launch said that the new Cabinet includes only female independent ministers and will work as a research center to serve Egyptian society and support women’s intellectual paths of all stripes.
“Forming a government with only female ministers is unprecedented historically and geographically,” Ghad al-Wakil, the head of the newly formed women's government, told Al-Monitor.
Wakil said that she has been mulling over the idea for years now and started two months ago to form the parallel government under the umbrella of the Heritage and Traditional Arts Association. The women's government includes 25 ministerial posts, including some that do not exist in the traditional Egyptian government, while some traditional ministries were merged into a single post.
