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3POLITICAL ROLE OF WOMEN IN EGYPT IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE XX - BEGINNING OF THE XXI CENTURIES
Yozieva Shakhribonu Gairatullaevna
Master's student at Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10246455
Abstract. After gaining independence, the Republic of Uzbekistan began to pursue a very active and open foreign policy. This policy is mainly of a mutually beneficial, constructive nature, which is based on the national interests of the state. This article examines the foreign policy of Uzbekistan with Egypt in different areas. It mainly covers the further development and strengthening of bilateral ties in the fields of education, tourism, culture, industrial cooperation, and trade. The article also provides examples of cooperation, agreements, and contracts in the above areas.
Keywords: Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Shafika Muhammad, Fahima Riyad, Aisha Omar, Khalida Khalil, "Teachings of Ptahhotep", "Teachings ofAni", "city woman", "Daughters of the Nile ", Doria Shafik.
INTRODUCTION
The history of the development of Arab countries has been deeply studied at all times. Scientists, analysts, and politicians have constantly shown great interest in the politics, economics, and social life of these countries. Turning to the history and historical era of the Arab world, we can see that it was the main economic, political and religious center. The Middle East was ahead of most Western countries in the legal sphere. But all this concerned past times, since at the moment most of the Arab countries have lost their leading position due to the decline in the level of legal culture of society, as well as strong discrimination against women's rights, infringement of their rights in many aspects and spheres of society, suppression of women's independence in expression of their opinion, which is the most key problem of all Arab countries. As noted in the sources: "Any society must develop gradually and harmoniously, but this will not happen if the female role in it is underestimated. After all, a man and a woman are the complementary principles of any society. However, it is precisely the underestimation of the female role that is happening in the countries of the Arab world." If we talk about women's rights in Arab countries, it should be noted that women's political rights in such Arab countries as Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria began to be discussed only in the 20th century, when women began to actively defend their position and point of view. But it must be noted with bitterness that Arab women are the most discriminated class in Arab society. Before the advent of some in favor of women in Arab society, they did not have the right to vote or participate in elections. In people's minds there was only that the main women's task was raising children, family comfort, and humble behavior. Muslim public consciousness still has difficulty accepting the idea of political partnership between the sexes. In addition, it should be noted that among women themselves there is still a dominant belief that politics is not a woman's business. In this regard, the majority of Egyptian women do not seek to enter the political life of the state and are even critical of women leaders. If we remember the uprising of 1919, we can say that this was the first step of women towards achieving equality in society. The 1919 uprising completely changed the colonial order created by Lord Cromer. In the unrest of 1919, Shafiqa Muhammad, Fahima Riyad, Aisha Omar, Khalida Khalil and a number of other women
became victims of the fight against British imperialism. Many of the participants in this uprising were imprisoned for their participation in the anti-British uprising. This uprising and the participation of women played a huge and colossal role in the formation of a new self-awareness of women and their emancipation. The first women's movement was created.
Since women's participation in politics is considered a very serious issue in Egyptian life, it is also necessary to look into the history and historical life of Egypt. What was the status of women in Ancient Egypt? What place did they occupy in the politics of Ancient Egypt? How did society treat the female sex in general?
As mentioned in historical sources, among the many deities among the Egyptians, the patrons of women stood out. First of all, this is Isis, who plays one of the key roles in the central myth of Osiris, around whom the life and death of the Egyptians was built. Isis, mother of Horus, was the sister and wife of Osiris. The beloved mother, expecting or nursing a baby, was associated with Isis, which gave her an extremely high status. The woman in Ancient Egypt was considered as a living icon of Isis.
In Ancient Egypt, family is the foundation of society. Marriages were treated as sacred bonds. The author of the "Teachings of Anya," a monument of the New Kingdom era, written during the reign of the Ramessides and belonging to the so-called "wisdom literature," wrote: "Take yourself a wife when you are young, so that she can give you a son. May she give birth to you while you are still young. It is wise to have offspring. That man is prosperous whose offspring are numerous: the more children he has, the greater his glory." A young man from an Egyptian family married only when he could provide for his family.
Historical records that have reached us, dating back to the Old Kingdom, can be concluded that the legal status of the Egyptian woman did not differ whether she was married, unmarried, divorced or widowed, and was equal to the status of the Egyptian man. In documents of any direction, married women, as well as their husbands, were officially referred to as "citizens" or "citizens". Men were only distinguished by a position that gave them position in society and income. Women in Ancient Egypt did not have positions in the civil service. Official titles when mentioning the names of women were shorter than those of men, namely, as a rule, only "mistress of the house" or "citizen". Also, very often the title of husband or father was added to the wife's name, giving her the corresponding social status. Among the rights women had was that Egyptian women could acquire, own and dispose of property, both private and real estate, in their own name. They could also enter into contracts in their own name, start civil cases in court, and be sued. The wife could be well informed about her husband's activities; in her absence, she could take care of her husband's affairs. Women could also help their husbands with field work and tending livestock when required. In the event of the early death of her husband, the mother was responsible for her children and their inheritance. On various monuments on the walls of tombs there are images of women next to their husbands during various holidays, ceremonies and business activities. From the 7th century BC e. husband and wife began to sign a marriage contract, which they could keep for themselves, give to a third party, or be kept in a temple. Often it was concluded after the couple had children. The contract regulated the rights of the wife and her children in marriage and in the event of divorce. At the same time, despite the fact that women were equal to men by law and could also manage property, the social role of women was different. The wife's kingdom was considered to be the home and household. She was considered the keeper of the hearth. For example, in ancient historical monuments such as the "Teachings of Ptahhotep" belonging to the
Middle Kingdom (dating from 2061-1665 BC), a wife and a woman are mentioned as being directly dependent on a man. In Egyptian writing, most of the hieroglyphs depicting women refer to the role of a woman, as a mother, bearing a fetus, giving birth, or breastfeeding. Some ancient Egyptian sources note that a woman, however, could not only manage her household, but also occupy cult positions, such as priestesses of various levels, including the highest.
When talking about women's rights, it is necessary to note about education in Ancient Egypt. Egyptian education concerned mainly boys from the upper class of Egyptian society. Accordingly, there is very little information about female education in Ancient Egypt. Girls and women were excluded from the education system, although many of them from noble families were literate. Women could learn to read and write either independently or with the help of their father, brother and husband. Based on the above information, it can be said that women's rights in Ancient Egypt were not fully respected, although in some areas they were considered equal to men.
Several centuries later, due to the influence of existing politics and society, women's rights are increasingly undermined. Dramatic changes in the lives of Egyptian women occurred after the July Revolution of 1952, as a result of which the Free Officers organization led by Lieutenant Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser carried out a coup d'état, overthrew the monarchy and Egypt was proclaimed a republic. Since Egypt's independence, the main goal of the Egyptian women's movement has been to secure women's political, economic, and civil rights. Doria Shafik, a feminist, writer, and leader of the Daughters of the Nile organization, played a special role in achieving a certain equality for women. In 1954, Doria Shafik went on a hunger strike with 18 other women not only to protest the lack of women's political rights in the new provisional Constitution, but also to highlight the strength of democratic tendencies in a public consciousness that could no longer tolerate the lack of a constitution and freedom. Doria Shafik stopped her hunger strike only after receiving a written statement from President Muhammad Naguib, who promised to respect women's rights in the Constitution. The Provisional Constitution of 1952 granted passive suffrage to all women who could read and write. Over time, in 1956, for the first time in Arab society, the Egyptian Constitution allowed women to actively participate in suffrage, that is, to vote and be elected in parliamentary elections. Women were also allowed to occupy leadership positions. In 1964, the parliament of 360 parliamentarians included 8 women. Thus, women in Egypt, taking advantage of the emerging conditions, began to actively participate in state politics. During Nasser's reign, the image of the emancipated woman was used as an emblem of progress and enlightenment. A female political elite began to form: the first female ministers and female members of parliament appeared. As we know, the highest legislative body of Egypt is the unicameral parliament - the National Assembly. In 1957, for the first time in Egyptian history, two women, Raviya Attiyah and Amina Shukri, became members of the National Assembly. In 1962, for the first time in Egyptian history, a woman, Hikmat Abu Said, a professor of sociology at Cairo University, became the minister of social affairs in the government. Thus, women entered power structures. In the 1964 parliament there were already 8 women among 360 parliamentarians. In the 1969 parliamentary elections, 6 women presented their candidacies. However, only two women - lawyer Butayna al-Tawil and worker Nawal Amir - received the required number of votes. The third representative, lawyer Mufida Abdurahman from Cairo, was appointed to parliament by presidential decree. In 1979, according to the decree of President A. Sadat, 30 seats were reserved for women in parliament. That same year, 35 women were
represented in parliament out of 390 members. This was the highest level of women's representation in parliament. Thus, Egyptian women gradually entered power structures. The participation of women deputies in the work of parliaments and other representative bodies of government is extremely important not only for women themselves, but also for society as a whole. Women put forward legislative initiatives that are close to the interests of women. Thus, for them, the issues of health care, family planning, raising children, hygiene, etc., which are on the periphery of men's interests, are in the foreground. CONCLUSION
The wife of President Hosni Mubarak, Suzanne Mubarak, a sociologist by training, fought for women's rights, headed the National Council of Women (created on March 12, 2000 by presidential decree) under the presidential foundation, which repeatedly urged women to become more actively involved in political activities, and especially to register in as voters. Today this organization is the main representative of women's political and other interests.
In January 2011, a revolution took place in Egypt demanding the resignation of permanent President Hosni Mubarak. The reasons for the mass protests were the low quality of life, unemployment, rising food prices, and lack of freedom of speech. Women not only suffered from repression, like men, but also from discriminatory laws.
In 2014, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was elected as the sixth president of Egypt. Today there are 6 women deputies in the Egyptian People's Assembly (1.3% of the total number of deputies). In 2004, 18 women deputies were elected to the Consultative Assembly (6.82% of the total number of deputies). The Egyptian government has 1 female minister.
Analyzing the above information, one can note positive changes in the field of women's rights and freedoms. In conclusion, I would like to note that despite the fact that today women have their own places and positions in the political life of the country, they cannot be said to be fully guaranteed equal rights.
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