The recent emergence of former TV presenter and democracy activist Buthaina Kemal as an outspoken female candidate for the Egyptian presidency is triggering discussion among international observers about the status of women in the nation’s political future.
According to Valerie M. Hudson, a World Politics Review contributor and political scientist at Brigham Young University in Utah, Kemal’s candidacy is a vital pronouncement that “women do not intend to be kicked to the side of the road in Egyptian politics.”
While her chances of winning may be minuscule, the very fact that Kemal is running represents “a push-back against a male political leadership in Egypt that would completely ignore women,” said Hudson. “It’s something that has to be done.”