Egypt passes quota law for women MPs

Egypt's parliament has passed a law allocating a quota of 64 seats in the lower house to women, in what a minister said on Monday was aimed at promoting their role in society. The new law adopted on Sunday will give women more than 12 percent of the seats in an expanded parliament after the next election due in 2010, Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Mufid Shehab said. It raises the total number of seats in the People's Assembly from 454 -- including 10 appointed by the president -- to 518. Nine women were elected to parliament in the last election in 2005.

President Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal, who is also the head of the ruling National Democratic Party's policies secretariat, announced the proposed new law earlier this month. Egyptian media have reported that Mubarak might dissolve parliament during the summer recess, which starts in July, in order to call new elections and elect a new batch of MPs in conformity with the new law. Mubarak's NDP controls the overwhelming majority of seats in parliament, where the main opposition grouping the Muslim Brotherhood also controls 20 percent of seats, although they must sit as independents.

AFP

Half a million women victims of physical violence in Algeria

About 500 thousands women experienced physical violence during 2006, according to a survey made by women’s issues families. The same survey said 50 percent of those women are affected by domestic violence.

Three-quarters of them are under the age of 45. About 30 percent are graduated from high school or university in addition to 15 percent of working women.

Violence spread much more among married couples. Divorced women and widows are the most vulnerable to violence. Two women out of 10 are subjected to humiliation inside their families and 5 women out of 100 are beaten.

As for married women aged between 19 and 64, violence forms recorded against them are beating, imprisonment and kicking out.

Two married women out of 10 are insulted everyday, said the survey. There are only 3 centres to receive women victims of violence. Three others are to be achieved soon, according to the same source. “Violence against women in Algeria needs direct and special care. This phenomenon has serious consequences on women and children’s health and familial cohesion,” says the survey.