Egypt

Carly Toepfer

History of Egyptian Women’s Struggles

Much like in the U.S., women in Egypt have been relegated to the house for much of history. According to Janet H. Johnson in her article Women's Legal Rights in Ancient Egypt, “When women married, they depended on their husbands to make all decisions, while the women themselves were depended upon to carry out household chores. Married Egyptian women were expected by their husband’s families to bear children, but particularly males.”

Female Royalty and Roles• Cleopatra, Hatshepsut, and

Nefertiti (right) were exceptions to the rule. They wielded great power in their country in Ancient Egypt.

• However, just because other women were put in household roles, this doesn't mean they were viewed as inferior to men. Johnson adds that in some periods of time, women were seen as superior to men, but were generally seen as equals.

Recent Regimes

• State Feminism – Rule of Gamal Abdul Nassar (1956-1970)

• Economic Liberalization Plan – Anwar Sadat Regime (1970-1981)

• Hosni Mubarak's Regime – (1981- February 2011)

• Current military Rule(Hamet)

Current Struggles• Women played a large role

in the 2011 revolution

• They currently struggle with the military. The military has done “virginity tests” on female prisoners.

• They also beat female protestors, dragged them by their hair, and stomped on them during the revolution.

A man holds a newspaper showing a woman who was stripped and beaten during

protests(left), a tweet a year after virginity tests. (Mackey)

Videos

• This video can't be embedded! :( but it's a good watch, so here's a link!

• And another. Both are of protesting women!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NcH2qel-b9k

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2011/dec/20/egypt-women-protest-cairo-video

Works Cited

Hatem, Mervat F. “Economic and Political Liberation in Egypt and the Demise of State Feminism.” International Journal of

Middle East Studies. 24.2, May, 1992. 231-251. Web.

Johnson, Janet H. Women’s Legal Rights in Ancient Egypt. University of Chicago. 2002. Web.

Mackey, Robert. “One Year Later, Egyptian Women Subjected to ‘Virginity Tests’ Await Justice.” The Lede. New York

Times. 09 March 2012. 02 April 2012. Web.