Christian woman to lead political party, in a first for Egypt

22 February 2014 - 16:27 By Sapa -dpa
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Hala Shukrallah, the new leader of Egypt's Constitution Party.
Hala Shukrallah, the new leader of Egypt's Constitution Party.
Image: Elbadil.com

Hala Shukrallah has become the first Christian woman to lead a political party in predominantly Muslim Egypt, media reports said Saturday.

The 60-year-old activist and development expert was elected to lead the liberal Constitution Party that was founded in 2012 by Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei. Shukrallah, a prominent campaigner against religious bias, won around 57 percent of the votes, media reports said.

Her win also makes her the first female leader of a political party in Egypt.

ElBaradei resigned as Egypt's vice president in August to protest a deadly security crackdown on sit-ins by backers of Mohammed Morsi, a month after the Islamist president was deposed by the military.

ElBaradei, a former head of the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog, has been living in Austria since.

Christians, who make up around 10 per cent of Egypt's 86 million population, often complain of alleged religious persecution.

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