Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi expressed in a speech on Wednesday his appreciation for the role of Egyptian women, highlighting that some unjust societal misconceptions have led to under-appreciation of women s role in maintaining the family and raising the youth, and thus should be corrected.
El-Sisi gave the speech during a seminar on women s role in society, which was held on the sidelines of the World Youth forum that is taking place in Egypt s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Shiekh from 4 to 10 November.
The president also said that empowering women is not only dependent upon their appointment in leading political roles, and called for more efforts to be exerted in media, educational, and religious institutions to highlight the great role women play in Egyptian society.
"Real men should appreciate the role of women and their sacrifices in defending our nation," El-Sisi said, calling upon youth participants in the forum to take a bow in honor of women s role.
"In Egypt s 30th of June revolution, women played the greater role, and in the war on terrorism women played a much greater role by encouraging their family members to take the streets and squares in every Egyptian city and village to say we are ready to fight against terrorism," El-Sisi added.
Thanks to calls and initiatives for gender equality in Egypt over the past several decades, women have gained significant representation in political life. However, their social roles are still undermined by ultra-conservative and anti-liberal currents due to culturally inherited misconceptions.
Egypt s 2014 parliamentary elections saw a historic election of 75 women out of a possible 568 seats in the House of Representatives.
The current Egyptian government also includes 4 women ministers.
Article 11 of the 2014 Egyptian Constitution states that "[t]he state shall ensure the achievement of equality between women and men in all civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution."
