ICC Note: Egypt just elected the first female and Christian Coptic governor to office. While the women’s right activist and Christian figures are excited, there is an uphill battle at hand due to both her gender and her religion. Although Egypt, has the largest Christian community in the Middle East at 10% of the population, Muslim extremist still pose a great threat.

09/05/2018 Egypt (AL-MONITOR) – Women’s rights activists and Christian figures rejoiced as Egyptian Appointed its first Coptic Christian woman as governor of the Nile Delta city of Damietta.

The appointment of Manal Awad, the first Christian woman to hold the position of governor in Egypt, reflects an unprecedented state willingness to empower Christians and appoint them in leading government posts.

Former member of Egyptian parliament Gamal Assad said the Egyptian leadership’s attitude toward Christians has dramatically changed under the reign of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Assad added that there will have to be community support to any initiatives or decisions that are made in the interests of Christians in Egypt. “The new Christian governor in Damietta is going to be under threat because there are still followers of the Muslim Brotherhood group out there, and they are of course opposing the appointment of any Christian in a leading post,” he told Al-Monitor.

Assad recalled demonstrations by thousands of Muslims in 2011 following the appointment of a Christian man as governor of the Upper Egyptian city of Qena. “The demonstrations revealed how the Egyptian society was in total rejection of having a Christian in a leading post. That is why genuine community backing is very crucial,” he added.

Randa Fakhr El Deen, executive director of the NGOs’ Union Against Harmful Practices on Women and Children, said she would nevertheless face uphill challenges during her tenure in office due to a societal misconception that women and Christians should not lead a Muslim community.

“It is not just about the fact that she is a woman. She is also Christian, and that would put a lot of challenges before Governor Awad with the existence of extremists and religious people who think that Christians should not take over leadership posts,” she added.

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