Arab Spring directly into Arab Winter.You lost me at number 3. Proportional system vs. majority system? What is a 'proportional' system? With 3 different 'districts' at 3 different voting dates, 2 different 'systems', 50 different political parties and 6700 candidates which leaves 6650 independent candidates without parties, the votes will take years to tally.Should any of these 6700 candidates, some of whom probably don't have permanent addresses, dispute the results, it will take another year for a recount. I don't know what this mess is, but obviously this is not a democratic state...and once again Egypt may set the tone for the recently  'liberated' state of Libya and other Arab states in the region...What is curious is whether this 'system' is a deliberate & really cynical attempt by powerful people to make democracy in Egypt untenable or whether now Egypt is in a permanent state of anarchy which keeps the military firmly in control and favors Islamists....And women? 2 candidates out of 6700?? Even 200 women candidates aren't a threat to a male dominated society. If Egypt is one of the most liberal of all Arab states, than what chance do women have elsewhere in the Middle East?  

Interesting... Several questions with difficult answers.
I live in Italy and have experienced that an electoral process is mainly a PR operation in which nobody really elects anything. It's just a way to clean up our consciences every couple of years and believe that we act responsably... We actually have somebody called Prof. Monti as Prime Minister who never needed to go trough elections to sit where he's actuallt sitting. Same thing can be done in Egypt. The main problem for the egyptians is to get rid of the military in the government, not electing a President. So, a compromise could be agreed by the main power groups in their society to bring the stability needed to deal with the difficulties of an electoral process. Egyptians do not fight for democracy, they fight for freedom to chose whatever system they want...

Very good and informative article. Also, typically witty title. If one looks at the "logos and slogans" in the street revolutions we ve seen lately, many were quite witty. I tell you all created by women. They have a keen ability for fine humor.

Commenting on one thing mentioned there, why would there have to be posts reserved for anybody whether they are women or men? I categorically oppose to that Affirmative Action unfair policies. If all women happen to be the most capable, let it be, (despite myself being a man), and the other way around too. I mean, I am "pro-diversity" I believe everybody must have an equal chance to prove his/her incompetence.

Without being an Egypt connoisseur (I know it is somewhere in Africa), why would all of a sudden those people go wild when they've been living "fine" for the last 30 years? I could understand some women's "fed up" movement, but, the country as a whole?

All this from a reporter sitting in London Town without a Passport?

Egypt will come under Sharia law .. and women won't be allowed to vote, because they won't be allowed to even read or write!
You can forget about having bank accounts and being able to drive also ...

Some may say that is coming to European women also - when Sharia gets voted in, democratically of course ...