Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has appointed women and Coptic Christians to ministerial posts, but neither group is entirely satisfied with the minimal inclusion.

Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi has appointed women and Coptic Christians to ministerial posts, but neither group is entirely satisfied with the minimal inclusion.

“We expected women to be granted five ministerial portfolios as was reported in several national newspapers that Professor Inas Abdel Dayem would be appointed Minister of Culture and Dalia Saadani Minister of Scientific Research,” said MP Georgette Kellini. “But we were surprised that they were eliminated without any clarification and we believe that the Salafist Nour Party along other religious currents objected their presence.”

In addition, Azza Suleiman, director of the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA), described the lack of women’s participation in the cabinet as shameful. “This is a small percentage that is not in line with the demands of the January 25 and June 30 revolutions. We are surprised by the exclusion of Prof. Inas Abdel Dayem from the Ministry of Culture, as we believe it to be an indicator of a confused and pressured government.”

“We are satisfied with the presence of three Copts in the cabinet”

Despite the rejection of Coptic thinker and Secular Coptic Movement Coordinator Kamal Zakher of the notion of quotas employed by some countries in governments’ formation, he expressed his satisfaction with the presence of three Copts in the new interim cabinet. “This transitional phase requires focus and great concentration on Egypt’s future. The government’s success cannot be measured by the amount of women and Coptic participation. Our main concern is that the selection of Beblawi’s cabinet ministers would be based on qualifications and I think success was achieved in this matter,” he said.

Zakher expressed his satisfaction with including three Copts in the new cabinet, not only for their eligible qualifications and expertise but also to reform the mischief of ousted president Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood who were keen on excluding Copts from any political office, he said.

In addition, intellectual and Copt activist Gamal Asaadalso objected the notion of a Copt quota, stressing that their selection was based on their competence and integrity. However, he underlined the positive impact of including three Copts, especially since the Muslim Brotherhood has attempted to exclude them from any political office.

“Including three Copts in Beblawi’s cabinet is an attempt to respond to the stupidity and chauvinism of the Muslim Brotherhood. After the outbreak of the January 25 revolution, it was believed that the participation of competent Copts would be greater, especially since the number of Coptic ministers under ousted President Mubarak did not exceed two and thus included three significant portfolios related to Scientific Research, Trade and Industry in addition to Environment, is a positive indicator that strongly complies with the demand of justice advocated by the June 30 and January 25 revolutions,” he said.

Asaad stressed the importance of adopting transparency, accountability and openness in dealing with the Egyptian people to avoid repeating the grave mistake of former Prime Minister Qandil’s government that had not set forth its functions and missions, he said. “The new government is before two major challenges the first of which is to restore security and eliminate all acts of chaos, which I am confident of its ability to overcome especially in light of the reconciliation achieved between the army and the people during the June 30 revolution, and the second challenge is related to the economic file. The government’s success depends on its national institutions’ support as well as its citizens’ commitment to change and keenness to triumph against their enemies.”

National reconciliation: new ministry for a new government

Beblawi’s interim government introduced a newly created ministry named Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation, assigned to Judge Mohamed Amin El-Mahdy in an attempt to end ongoing political disputes and divisions.

In a press statement, Judge Mohamed Amin El-Mahdy, Minister of Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation said, “National reconciliation is the only means to stabilize the Egyptian street and stop the bloodshed and violence.” He also added that he is temporarily exercising his duties at Itahadia Palace as the new law defining the terms of national reconciliation and transitional justice is under preparation.”

The new minister underlined that the needed reconciliation requires full cooperation of state institutions to reach a proper formula to reconcile with both Mubarak regime’s figures and Muslim Brotherhood’s leaderships. He added that he was in charge of the national reconciliation file since the January 25 revolution when the purpose was to establish a commission, but Judge Adly Mansour now believes that a designated ministry should be assigned to work on this matter.

“Transitional justice is accomplished over three consecutive phases; openness, accountability and reconciliation,” said Ehab Kharrat, member of the Supreme Body of Egyptian Democratic Party, defining the role of the new transitional justice ministry. He stressed that current conflicts could only be resolved by the rule of law, respect for human rights and application of transitional justice.

On the other hand, Ahmed Bahaa Shaaban, General Coordinator of the National Assembly for Change, believes that calls for national reconciliation are of a misleading nature since the Muslim Brotherhood has acted against the Egyptian people’s interest and a great number of its members is accused with several charges and hence the law must be applied firmly first.

“We believe in granting those honorable people who were not involved in violence a second chance to participate in the political life. Otherwise, it would be a crime against the Egyptian people,” he concluded.