Cairo, February 11, 2026
The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) expresses its concern over the decline in the percentage of women’s representation in the recent cabinet reshuffle, which came as a disappointment and does not reflect the gains that the Egyptian State seeks to achieve in the area of women’s political empowerment.
The recent cabinet formation included 30 ministerial portfolios; however, women’s share of these positions was extremely limited:
- New ministers: Out of 13 newly appointed ministers, only two were women.
- Ministers retained in office: Seventeen ministers from the previous cabinet were retained.
- Overall representation: The number of women remained at only four female ministers out of 30, namely:
- Dr. Randa El-Menshawy (Minister of Housing)
- Dr. Jehan Zaki (Minister of Culture)
- Dr. Maya Morsy (Minister of Social Solidarity)
- Dr. Manal Awad (Minister of Local Development and Environment, following the merger of the two ministries into one).
ECWR believes that this percentage, which does not exceed 13.3%, places Egypt in an embarrassing position with regard to its international commitments and reporting obligations. For example, according to the Global Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum in 2025:
- Egypt ranked 101st in the Political Empowerment Index (out of 148 countries).
- Egypt recorded a continued decline in this index, dropping from 85th place in 2023 to 90th in 2024, reaching its current position.
- Specifically in terms of “representation in ministerial positions,” Egypt ranked 108th globally.
Nehad AboulKomsan, ECWR’s Chairwoman, stated: “The continued gender imbalance in senior leadership positions, and the persistence of low representation rates (as seen in the July 2024 cabinet formation), reveal a genuine gap between political discourse supporting women and its practical implementation. Restricting women’s representation to just four ministries fails to reflect the breadth of Egyptian women’s qualifications and will inevitably contribute to a further decline in Egypt’s standing in international development indicators.”
Accordingly, ECWR calls for a reconsideration of the mechanisms for selecting leadership positions and for ensuring the application of a ‘quota’ system or fair representation percentages for women in the executive branch, in a manner that guarantees the sustainability of empowerment efforts and improves Egypt’s international standing.
