Egypt appoints first-ever Christian woman as governor

CAIRO – Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has sworn in several new provincial governors, including the first-ever Coptic Christian woman to hold the position.

Manal Awad Mikhail was appointed governor of Damietta province Thursday. She was previously a deputy for the Giza governor.

The reshuffle included new governors for Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Aswan and North Sinai.

Egypt had appointed the first-ever female governor to the province of Beheira in a reshuffle last year. The Beheira governor was changed in Thursday’s reshuffle.

Christians, who constitute about 10 per cent of Egypt’s Muslim-majority population of 100 million, have long complained of discrimination and their under-representation in top government positions. Christians strongly supported general-turned-president el-Sissi who led the ouster of his Islamist predecessor.

Egypt’s current cabinet includes eight female ministers, the highest in the country’s modern history.