Bothaina Kamel's role in Egyptian politics
When TV personality Bothaina Kamel decided to run for president in April 2011, she knew she had no chance of winning. But she wanted "to break taboos, and I believe I've achieved this." Back then, "a woman candidate was regarded as an alien, but now the idea is accepted. Now there has been a woman candidate who went through the process."Moreover, when Kamel traveled to remote villages to collect signatures for her candidacy, she found that common people accepted a female contender. "So what if you are a woman?" illiterate women told her. "Look at what men have done to us. Let's try a woman." Yet, so long as the military and the Islamists dominate Egyptian politics, Kamel believes, they will seek to limit female participation in politics. "It is too frightening to them," she says.
When TV personality Bothaina Kamel decided to run for president in April 2011, she knew she had no chance of winning. But she wanted "to break taboos, and I believe I've achieved this." Back then, "a woman candidate was regarded as an alien, but now the idea is accepted. Now there has been a woman candidate who went through the process."
Moreover, when Kamel traveled to remote villages to collect signatures for her candidacy, she found that common people accepted a female contender. "So what if you are a woman?" illiterate women told her. "Look at what men have done to us. Let's try a woman."
Yet, so long as the military and the Islamists dominate Egyptian politics, Kamel believes, they will seek to limit female participation in politics. "It is too frightening to them," she says.