By Omnia Talal

Political activists launched on Saturday an initiative called E'rafni (Know Me) to support women candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections, to help convey their voices to everyone in Egypt.

The initiative was launched on the sidelines of a workshop hosted by the International Centre for Development under the title "activating the political participation of women."

A member of the initiative, Dina Bahaa, said that the initiative relies on direct contact and a door to door campaign, in addition to campaigning in streets and public transportations.

She stressed that these campaigns are fruitful in raising public awareness of women's issues and the importance of their role in political life.

Another member of the initiative, Samara Sultan, believes in the importance of targeting the less educated segments of society to raise their awareness of how to choose their representatives in the parliament.

Meanwhile, member of the Wafd Party, Samah Farrag, said that reaching out for Upper Egypt and the rural areas should be a priority, explaining that rural areas suffer from high illiteracy rates, as well as political illiteracy.

Farrag added that the Islamists exploits women's poverty and buys their votes with food and other electoral bribes.

The executive director of the International Centre for Development, Mohamed Adel, suggested establishing an academy to support women's social, political and economic rights and help raise their political awareness and activate their participation in public and political life.