I well remember a leading Egyptian liberal saying to me in 2003 that she did not favor free elections right then in Egypt; she favored them in a decade's time if she and others had those 10 years to organize freely.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The road to democracy is rarely smooth, but for Egyptian women, it has been exceptionally bumpy.
Women enjoyed rights in Egypt they would not again enjoy for more than 2,000 years. They owned ships, ran vineyards, filed lawsuits, practiced medicine. Their husbands supported them after divorce. Their power was unprecedented.
The dream of democracy has long been enshrined in the hearts of the Egyptian people. It only needed awakening.
I grew up in a conservative household. That was the life of the time in Egypt: a conservative, middle-class household.
Egypt had the first constitution in the Middle East that allowed for liberty. And it had democracy.
If President Obama really means what he has said repeatedly about supporting the aspirations of the Egyptian people, then he will have to recognize that in Egypt today, as in America in 1963, that can mean opposing government policy.
I am the first Egyptian civilian president elected democratically, freely, following a great, peaceful revolution.
As a young politician, I voted against the return of Sinai and peace with Egypt. I was mistaken.
Well, one thing that has happened is they have had a presidential election in Egypt which has represented progress. Now, we were not happy with everything that happened with the parliamentary elections, and it was not exactly a perfect presidential election in Egypt.
Egypt was the first democracy in the Middle East. Women were unveiled in the 1920s. Egypt is a country of civilization, of culture. It shouldn't be suffering.