Prime Minister Hesham Qandil asked the National Council for Women to quickly finish drafting a law to protect women from violence, which the council promised to finish within a month, said Insurance and Social Affairs Minister Nagwa Khalil.
The government, she added, is considering a special proposal made by the Interior Ministry to develop special legislation to combat harassment.
“Egyptian women experience, in these days, violence which has not been seen in previous times," Khalil said after a meeting with the prime minister, a number of activists and the president of the National Council for Women.
She added that Egypt is signatory to a number of agreements concerning the rights of women, but that the government is trying to "do something that can be felt by the Egyptian people to combat the phenomenon of harassment."
Additionally, Khalil also said that the government will try to develop media discourse illustrating the negative effects of violence against women, and also highlight the role of human rights NGOs in defending women's rights.
There has also reportedly been discussion of forming a female police force to protect women, as well as various initiatives reducing the number of street children and fighting drug addiction.
The president of the National Council for Women had previously demanded a large role for women in legislatures, "Equal to their role in Egyptian society.”
The prime minister has said that as part of moves to support women, the government is discussing raising the social security pension to LE500, after a previous raise to LE300 from LE200.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
