After the Fall of Mubarak, Will Egypt Elect its First Female President?
- Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:30pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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We might soon see just how reform the reformers of the Egyptian Spring really are by how they react, and perhaps vote, when presented with a female candidate on their upcoming presidential ballot.
That’s right. Bothaina Kamel, a celebrity broadcaster turned political activist, is allegedly throwing her hat in the ring to become president of the Arab world’s most populous country. If she solidifies her candidacy, Kamel would be the first woman in the country’s modern history to run for its highest office. It will also be Egypt’s first democratic election ever.
But Kamel alleges it is not only women her success would empower, but also Egypt’s other disenfranchised communities – from Coptic Christians to Nubians and Bedouins.
“By putting myself forward I am making this democratic right – the right of a woman to be president – a concrete reality, and that alters expectations,” Kamel says of her presidential aspirations.
Since revealing her intentions, officials have reportedly launched a massive smear-campaign against Kamel, from alleging that she was buying desert land to carry out illegal excavations for valuable antiquities to claims that she bribes her supporters.
The Guardian goes on to address some of the challenges the bombastic Kamel likely faces, especially with a motto of “victor or martyr”:
Since she announced back in April her intention to compete in Egypt’s first ever democratic presidential elections, her efforts to recalibrate the balance between state and society have come under sustained attack from many directions, not least the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) whom Kamel accuses of being an enemy of the revolution.
“At Abbasiya [an anti-SCAF demonstration in Cairo last month which came under attack by armed civilians] they almost killed me – people told me afterwards that some of the baltagiyya [paid thugs] were asking for me by name,” she claims.
“The army stood by and watched it happen, and then later that night [Egypt's de facto interim leader] Field Marshal Tantawi appeared on national television thanking the ‘brave people’ of Abbasiya who stopped the outlaws. We are not outlaws, we are revolutionaries! They are the outlaws and thugs, they are Mubarak’s regime, and they are as low and dirty as ever.”
That kind of language is bold, even among reformist activists who have turned against the military in recent weeks and opened up a volatile legitimacy gap at the heart of Egypt’s post-Mubarak transition. But Kamel’s bombastic tone – “victor or martyr” is how she views herself when stepping out each day on to the streets – dovetails with her personal engagement with potential voters and an attention to specifics, from suspected abuses by intelligence agents in the north Cairo neighbourhood of Shubra to obscure links between particular security generals and high-flying businessmen. She may have barely 1,000 supporters on her Facebook site (presidential rival Mohamed ElBaradei boasts a quarter of a million), but there is something about Kamel that seems to spook Egypt’s powers-that-be – and it involves a lot more than her gender.
But still, some believe Kamel’s high-profile public persona combined with her reportedly staunch activism giver her a unique advantage over some other candidates.
And The Guardian explains that during a recent trip to Suez — the site of violent clashes between civilians and police — Kamel has earned fans. “I just came and listened and tried to help, and by the end of it people were chanting, ‘Long live the woman!‘ It doesn’t matter to Egyptians whether someone is a woman or a man, what‘s important is whether it’s someone who can understand and help them. The revolution has made Egyptians feel free, and that‘s why I’m running for president,” Kamel said.
But given her bold proclamations against the Egyptian establishment, Kamel could be taking her very life in her hands. And history reminds us that even women who do manage to attain high-ranking positions in Islamic countries, like Benazir Bhutto, will forever have to look over their shoulders.
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Comments (34)
hwyphd1
Posted on August 7, 2011 at 12:58pmShe could run and win,but the muslim brotherhood won’t allow it..
Report Post »progressiveslayer
Posted on August 7, 2011 at 10:30amThe day she wins will be the day Barry turns completely black !
Report Post »ThoreauHD
Posted on August 7, 2011 at 6:36amAnyone else notice that she looks white?
Report Post »bigdaddyt46
Posted on August 7, 2011 at 5:48amher campaign slogan:
why walk when you can ride a Kamel
Report Post »wbaranowski
Posted on August 7, 2011 at 4:40amI hope she wears a black Betty Page wig, long flowing, silk robes and gets carried around on a pallet. Cool visual.
Report Post »Steev
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 10:09pmI know nothing about her – but i think a women president in any country would be a good thing !
Report Post »babylonvi
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:30pmNot unless she is an Imam in the Muslim Brotherhood.
Report Post »Marci
Posted on August 7, 2011 at 2:37amGot that right Baby—she may just be a straw candidate. This with the Muslim Brotherhood poised to take over? Highly doubt it. She is showing way to much skin and expecting that she has any worth in society. Stay tuned….something isn’t right here.
Report Post »BillyPenn
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:22pmShe has as much chance as surviving as an honest sheriff in Mexico.
Report Post »johnj1952
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 8:17pmIs she a muslim? And if so does she still have all her sexual parts?(you know a clitorus)
Report Post »lylejk
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:54pmMaybe she really will be the only one that can keep the sanity between all the sects (Coptic, Muslim, and others) in check. If she does when, then all the heat w.r.t. the Muslim brotherhood would dissipate. But, like many here have already stated, she won’t have a change on this Blue/Green planet from getting elected unfortunately. :)
Report Post »reconmarine
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 7:18pmShe has as much chance of being elected as Obama has of balancing the budget.
Report Post »GABOB
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 6:34pmIs that before or after they beat and rape her in a back alley? Then stone her for not having enough witnesses to come forward. Pray for her safety.
Report Post »JCoolman
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 5:42pmEveryone needs to pray for her safety. All being against her (at least in the establishment) and slamming her tells me she is doing something right.
Report Post »Lesbian Packing Hollow Points
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 5:28pmI’d walk a mile for a Kamel… and then get beaten up by Muslim Brotherhood rent-a-mobs.
If she wins, it would go a long way toward insuring a more secular Egypt and not a new Muslim Theocracy on Israel’s south border.
Report Post »ILUVJESUS
Posted on August 7, 2011 at 6:44pmThe radicals will kill her. That is what they are all about.
Report Post »GABOB
Posted on August 7, 2011 at 6:56pmShe wouldn’t make it a week.
Report Post »dmerwin
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:40pmWill not happen, most of them don’t even think she should have been taught to read or allowed to drive a car etc. ad nauseum. Let see the exiting spin MSNBC puts on this one, come on Rachel, get the girls back.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 5:09pmsure..right after allah becomes a christian..
Report Post »Tankertony
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:35pmIs this a joke? A tyrannical regime will be replaced by an even more tyrannical regime. The only place for women will be in a burqa in a kitchen. Thanks, obama.
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:18pmIs she the one that they speak of as Bothaina Kameltoe?
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:16pmRemember Imelda Marcos. Why this Egyptian woman will bankrupt the country and sell off it’s antiquities in order to buy thousands of pairs of shoes. It is foreordained.
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:16pmYeah right a woman president in sharia law country .
Report Post »clingingtogodandguns
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:06pmShe just signed her death sentence.I would love to see it but come on i don’t think so.
Report Post »The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:15pmI was thinking the same thing. These animals are pathetic trash…and their idea of “debating” her, will be to gun her down in the street, suicide bomb her and her family, or kidnap her and stone her to death on camera.
These people are human filth and its time we say it and stop trying to be “good Christians” and give them the benefit of the doubt.
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:16pmI believe there is hope in Egypt, if this is even a possibility…maybe one of those countries are moving out of the “dark ages”.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:04pmI’d walk a mile for a Kamel. Do have to admit, she is the best looking Kamel i’ve ever seen. And she is from the Bactrian Tribe on the Dromedary Tribe.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:13pmS/B “not the Dromedary Tribe”
Report Post »jijbarton
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:03pmI find this very interesting considering America has yet to elect a woman for President. In the Arab world woman are not thought so highly of, like they are in America. But I would like to know what her true beliefs are? What does freedom mean to her? Because freedom in America, is not the same thing around the world, especially in the Arab countries. Is she connected to the muslim brotherhood? How does she feel about Israel and maintaining a good moral relationship? A lot of unanswered questions that were not addressed in this article. But I must say she is bold and only solitifies my continued efforts on my end to help save America in what ever small way I can. If she can takes these steps with the threat of death, I can get my butt off the couch and stay involved.
Report Post »quicker
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 4:00pmThe Muslum Brotherhood will kill her for even daring to try to run.Sharia law you know.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:48pmIf she does succeed in becoming the first Egyptian female President; then good for her and make sure her security is iron clad at all times…that will make her a double target by the extremists and lunatics in the area just for being a woman who dared to run for President.
Good luck and God watch over you.
Report Post »bullcrapbuster
Posted on August 6, 2011 at 3:46pmGo girl!
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