Political Participation of Women in Egypt

Abstract

Women's participation in politics within the Muslim world sparked debates between the traditional and modern Muslim scholars of Islam. This article looks into the extent of the political participation of women in Egypt and elaborates on how the educational system changes the political landscape of the country. Using systemic analysis of the related literature and studies, this study finds that the countries' leading Islamic political movement, the Ikhwan al-Muslim (Muslim Brotherhood), the religious edict of the Shari'ah Council of the al-Azhar University as well as the prevailing social condition of the society favors woman participation in politics. The more they are exposed to the secular educational system of the country the more they are likely to be active in participating in politics as opposed to those that went through the Islamic educational system.