Egyptian woman runs for chairmanship of Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing

Sparking controversy, a female candidate is seeking to head the political wing of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood. She has denied that her candidacy is a smoke screen to distract from criticism that the movement is discriminatory towards women, rt.com website reported.
Sabah al-Sakkari, a female member of the Muslim brotherhood’s political wing is running to replace the outgoing chairman Mohamed Morsi, the current president of Egypt.
Her appointment comes at a time when women’s rights in Egypt are facing international scrutiny. The London Based Human Rights Watch published a report Tuesday, saying that discrimination had increased since the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year.
“I will never accept that the party uses me like a decoration so that people can say Freedom and Justice was the first party to nominate a woman for chairmanship,” she told the Saudi owned television news channel Al-Arabiya.
She stressed that women do play a major role and are not just used as figureheads to convey an image of modernity and tolerance.
“We have a political role and we are serving the country through the party exactly like men do. Woman in the party are strong and will never allow anyone to strip them of their rights,” she said.