NEWS FLASH

Women Fighting For Their Voice In New Egypt | Women comprise only 2 percent of Egypt’s parliament — down from 12 percent when quotas bolstered their position under the dictator Hosni Mubarak. No women participated in the constitutional council organized by transitional military rulers. And none appear on upcoming presidential ballots. After protesting to bring down the old government, some women fear they’re being marginalized by Egypt’s new one. “Now, the decision-makers don’t need women, and we’re back to this idea that femininity is inferior and masculinity superior,” said Hoda Badran, who reconstituted the formerly-banned Egyptian Feminist Union. Her group will bus women to polling places and distribute pamphlets encouraging women to vote for candidates that will back currently existing rights and protections for women that some Islamist candidates seek to dismantle.