“I am from the Arabs of Omraneya, so our traditions dictate that the women belong in the house,” El-Attar said. “But I broke the rules and ran for parliament.”
El-Attar said that she also defied tradition by meeting with male community leaders, which women are usually not allowed to do there.
Mona Makram Ebeid, former MP and Al-Wafd quota candidate for Qalioubia, said that the traditional absence of women during her meetings with voters has shown her that society’s perception of politics as a realm exclusive to men has yet to be changed.
Samiha Abou Steit, advisor to the secretary general of the NCW, said that the women’s quota law will be in effect for only two election cycles in order to change the social view of women in politics. After the two cycles have passed and the perceptions have changed, women will be more capable of competing with men for regular parliamentary seats, according to Abou Steit.
“This is a necessary step to show the community that women can be very effective, and that their participation in the political life is vital,” Abou Steit said.
“When the women enter the parliament, prove themselves and earn the trust of the citizens, people will give them their votes in the [following] elections,” said Radwan.
“We need to repair this crisis of trust by performing satisfactorily in the parliament,” said Suleiman. “We want to prove that the period of male domination in the parliament is over.”
Ikbal El Samalouty, a quota NDP candidate in Giza and the dean of the High Institute for Social Services, stated that the meetings of female candidates with voters are effective in demonstrating women’s political abilities to society.
“Studies have shown that changing culture doesn’t come from lectures, but from practice and direct dialogue,” El-Samalouty said.
El-Samalouty added that the increased presence of female candidates will encourage female voters to participate in the elections because “they feel like one of them is running.”
Even though the female candidates believe in the benefits of the quota system, many have complained of the size of their constituencies. Many are running for seats on the level of an entire governorate or half of a governorate, whereas their counterparts who are running for regular parliamentary seats will ultimately be responsible for much smaller communities if they are elected.
The main concern these female candidates have over their large constituencies is that their considerably large size makes it difficult for the candidates to connect with the entire constituency and to meet with all of their constituency’s voters.
The female candidates all shared the belief that they shoulder a large personal responsibility to prove that the women’s quota system is beneficial through what they accomplish in the new parliament.
“The experience is not easy, and it will take more the 10 years to bear all its fruit,” Khattab stated. “It will take a generation to change [society’s] perception … of women’s political participation.”
“We have to offer something different than the males,” Hamdy said. “If women don’t succeed [in achieving] something this [election] cycle, there will be little hope for the [elections that follow].”
