The Supreme Administrative Court today rejected an appeal against the quota allocated for women in parliament.
The lawsuit was filed by a lawyer on the grounds that the quota violates the Constitution, which states that all Egyptians are equal.
The Administrative Court said the claimant has not submitted any documents proving that a decision allocating a parliamentary quota for women in the upcoming election has been made.
Nabeeh el-Bahei–the claimant who filed his lawsuit against the president, the prime minister, speakers of the two houses of parliament, and the Interior Minister–argued that 32 constituencies (64 seats in the People’s Assembly) were allocated to women on the pretext of activating the role of women, but that the move was actually motivated by a desire on the part of the ruling party to obtain more seats in the parliamentary 2010 elections. He also argued the step came in response to external pressures on Egypt.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
