Women in the Muslim Brotherhood

 Women in the Muslim Brotherhood represent approximately half of the group’s members, a ratio unlike any other political force. They perform the same social and political activities in the community as their counterparts. In fact, the women played a large role in the last parliamentary elections with the largest number of female candidates. Moreover, the group’s newly formed Freedom and Justice Party has over 1000 female co-founders; larger than any other political force.

Until recently,the women were not given chief political roles in the group for protection against the measures used by the Mubarak regime against MB leaders. The group formerly faced fierce crackdowns by the ousted regime, where its members and especially leaders were prone to arrest, torture, detentions, referrals to military tribunals, confiscation of personnel belongings and the seizing and freezing of funds and assets. Now that political times have changed, the MB is working on increasing the women’s involvement on all levels to play a role in shaping Egypt’s future.