Equal status can be further illustrated by the very fact that Egypt was ruled by queens – female pharaohs such as Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut and Cleopatra VII, regents such as Meritneith or Ahmose-Nefertari or holders of the prestigious title God's Wife of Amun during the Late Period.
Examples of early Egyptian art-work are also important in identifying the potentially revered position held by women in Ancient Egypt.
Daughters of the upper classes in Egypt of the time were able to receive education at home, however poorer girls were able to attend Kuttabs where the Qur'an was taught along with some reading and writing.
[1] Further improvements to women's position within Egyptian society were introduced by Isma'il Pasha known as Ismail the Magnificent (December 31, 1830 – March 2, 1895), Muhammad Ali's successor.
[3] Despite both social and economic reforms and further improvements made by Isma'il Pasha, Egypt had fallen heavily in debt to European powers and in order to protect its financial interests, particularly those in the Suez Canal, the UK seized control of the Egyptian government (1882).
"The overwhelming presence of Europe and the collapse of much of the traditional order led to a reconsideration of Egypt's own position and identity in relation to the west.
Western repression along with the exile of the popular Wafd leader Saad Zaghlul proved to be the catalyst for change resulting in violent demonstrations.
[9] The period before the creation of political parties in Egypt in 1907 is characterised as a key journalistic phase for nationalism and also for feminism, with an increase in female readership too.
This led to her participation in an international Feminist Conference in Rome and upon her return, along with Nabawiyya Musa and Saiza Nabarawi, Shaarawi caused outrage in the gesture that she made against the Egyptian authorities and traditions by throwing her veil into the sea.
[20] The EFU was concerned with education, social welfare, and changes in private law in order to provide equality between Egyptian men and women.
It viewed the social problems of Egypt, such as poverty, prostitution, illiteracy, and poor health conditions, not as a result of a specific socioeconomic structure, but rather due to the neglect of the state in its responsibilities towards its people.
Change concerning the position women in Egypt was felt by many as a "final invasion in the last sphere they could control against aggressive infidels, once sovereignty and much of the economy had been taken by the west".
[24] Talaat Harb, a prominent Nationalist of his time, in "Tarbiyat al-mar'a wa-al-hijab" 1905 argued that "the emancipation of women was just another plot to weaken the Egyptian nation and disseminate immorality and decadence in its society.
He criticised Egyptians who desired to ape the west and claimed that there was a European imperialist design to project a negative image of the position of Muslim women.
By improving certain aspects of their rights and situations in Egyptian society such as access to education, meant that the upper and middle classes were satisfied.
Following the end of the Second World War and facing hard economic realities and corruption of the ancient regime (the monarchical system under King Farouk), a general impetus for another radicalization of Egyptian politics became evident.
According to Nelson it was only then that the movement experienced a diversification in ideology, tactics, and goals, and that it began to transcend its elitist origins and membership.
The voices of a younger more radical generation of Egyptian women influenced by the rise of student and labour movements began to be heard and they were not content with the status quo of the EFU.
Headed by Fatma Neamat Rashed, the party called for complete equality between women and men in education, employment, political representation, and rights.
It also promoted literacy programmes, campaigned to improve health services among the poor, and aimed to enhance mother's rights and childcare.
[26] Doria Shafik was the leader of the movement and she reflected the liberal ideology of the modern feminists whose activism openly challenged the state.
The New Woman Group was formed in Cairo and was mainly concerned with studying the feminist history of the country in order to determine a new program which would start off from where the previous one had stopped.
The Egyptian government originally revised school uniform legislation in 1994, forbidding girls under the age of 12 from covering their hair or face by wearing the hijab or veil.
The law states that verbal, physical, behavioral, phone and online sexual harassment can result in a prison sentence of 6 months to 5 years, and up to 50,000 pounds in fines.
[32] Many organizations concerning human rights allege that the enforcement of laws does not do enough in terms of eliminating an atmosphere that perpetuates harassment and sexual violence.
[33] The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women published a report on recent sexual harassment statistics in Egypt.
The United Nations Population Fund recently launched a program targeting sexual harassment faced by Egyptian women in universities.
Work was started on a university policy through the Ministry of Education to specifically strengthen institutional mechanisms to discourage violence against women.
This training is especially significant to Uber, as the company has been involved in recent controversy with sexual harassment and even rape in France, China, Canada and India.
Despite a legal system that does not fully protect them, the shaming they may receive from families and the fact that so-called 'honour killings' still happen, the women and girls of Egypt are speaking out more than ever."