Samenvatting

Since the Arab Spring in the beginning of 2011, Egypt has experienced many social and political changes. Islamist parties have gained a firm foothold in the political arena after years of secular rule by the Mubarak regime and the interim SCAF government. A new constitution, in which men and women are equal, has not yet been created. The Sharia is the basis of all legislation.
In the mean time, the already existing difficulties that women face were exacerbated by the newfound power of the Islamists. Some difficulties that already occured under the old regime include FGM and limited access to education and health care. Political participation of women decreased after the Arab Spring. Both the World Economic Forum and the OECD support these this by indicate that women have a much weaker position, politically, socially and economically, than men.
The European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) aims at bringing Europe and its southern and eastern neighbours closer to each other, to their mutual benefit and interest. Egypt is part of the EU southern neighbourhood. For each individual country a strategy paper and an action plan are designed. Each year, a Progress Report is issued for each country. In the 2007-2012 Action Plan for Egypt measures were announced for civil society co-operation, human trafficking, enterprises, health sector reforms, rights of women and children, social development and the educational system.
In the ENP Review, presented in May 2011, the EU has adopted as its basic principles: deep democracy; mutual accountability; civil society; commitment to human rights; partnership with civil society; and a simplified and coherent policy and programme framework. The reactions of stakeholders such as Oxfam International and EMHRN were generally positive. However, the results of the EU policies were disappointing, according to the EU Progress Reports on 2010 and 2011.
That is why several stakeholders have provided useful recommendations for improving the ENP as a whole and its position on Egyptian women in particular. These recommendations include advocating EU support for the civil society in the ENP policy area. A clearer ENP, including benchmarks and criteria, is another recommendation given by several stakeholders. On democratic reform, the establishment of the European Endowment for Democracy and the utilisation of the SPRING programme and EuropeAid are considered essential. On women, the stakeholders argue that Egyptian civil society organisations should be involved in the negotiation process between Egypt and the EU. These organisations should also receive support from their European counterparts and the Union. Egypt should commit to all international human rights conventions, including those on women's rights, as well. The importance of the role of women in a transition process should be publicly acknowledged, as well as the threat of a loss in women's rights due to the growing influence of conservative groups. My recommendations include emphasizing the empowerment of women and enhancing their societal position by improving their basic needs by implementing measures to improve education and health care for them and to help them gain economic independence.