...contrary to popular (and largely ethnocentric) beliefs, the revolution could happen only because women’s roles in Egyptian society—and Arab societies as a whole—have already been undergoing a sea change.

Anyone who has studied Arab societies in the last thirty years will attest to how socially active, politically informed, and economically engaged women have been.

What is now transpiring with women’s rights in Egypt—and elsewhere in the Arab region—is a continuation of the struggle for gender equality within the emerging political framework, which is part and parcel of the larger effort to safeguard all human rights in the new polity that is now being collectively fashioned.

Egyptian women have been working productively for thousands of years and the law governing women’s work was issued more than fifty years ago.

Women, on the other hand, must be absolutely excluded from such groups, and rather encouraged to have their own. The presence of women in any group like this will totally destroy its social function, by introducing sexual competition, and by the fact that it's in their blood to play on men's misplaced chivalry to cause friction for their own advantage.

The council will also focus on the issue of illiteracy, because we cannot promote the development and advancement of women while facing a 40 percent illiteracy rate in Egypt. We will also reconsider the services provided to women in regards to healthcare. Finally, we will draw attention to marginalized groups in the community, such as women in slums, older women and disabled women.

Society and culture play an important part in determining gender roles, and women sometimes find it hard to break free from such norms

Wherever possible, we should call small women’s clubs into being, pleasantly and tastefully furnished and equipped with libraries, where the comrades can meet anytime to read or to speak on important issues, and where they can bring their children, if necessary. Common work rooms are also an excellent means for this purpose. One would have to try to promote efforts of mutual aid in cases of illness, etc. to the best of their ability to connect the individual woman more firmly with her new circle through friendship ties. Similarly, groups may be considered for the promotion of artistic or similar endeavors. Also, the housing complex with a central kitchen [Einküchenhaus] should be mentioned at this point. In all these connections and groupings, our main concern is to bring the women closer to one another, thus creating a more intimate and lasting companionship between them.

As an Egyptian Muslim woman growing up in a very conservative family, it would feel like whatever I did, it was not good enough. That meant I had to work harder, longer, more. The social conditions helped put me in a place where, yes, you have to hit the ground running. If you don’t, you’ll fall flat on your face.

The oppression of women in Egypt cannot be traced to traditions, Islam and fundamentalism, but rather to the slavery system – a system of the patriarchal class society that is supported by the religions. (2014)

There are several measurable examples that echo the ongoing progress of women in Egypt by law: more than 12 years ago Egyptian women already have gained the right to travel without their husband’s prior consent, and the right to pass down their nationality to children born to foreign fathers.

We must not believe, certainly, that a change in woman’s economic condition alone is enough to transform her, though this factor has been and remains the basic factor in her evolution; but until it has brought about the moral, social, cultural, and other consequences that it promises and requires, the new woman cannot appear.

On the whole, the situation for Palestinian women today is just as it was. There have been no real changes, though there are of course more educated women, more female doctors, university lecturers, artists, and writers. But they come from the elite classes and live in a completely different world from the masses. The truth is that the Islamist movement has had a great influence on the masses over the past 30 years, and has robbed women of many of the few small victories that we had achieved. So what do we need? First and foremost, we need better political leadership, a leadership that takes women seriously and introduces laws that entail that women are treated as equals. Personally, I am working for liberation and human rights for all. Despite the many setbacks, I still believe that I have had a certain influence. I was the first feminist in the Arab world to write about women's issues in a literary form. I have had some influence on educated women, but I have not had much influence on men-and it is men who dominate society here, at all levels.

Social progress can be measured by the social position of the female sex.