cultural rights. In accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, the State commits to take measures to ensure the proper representation of women in parliament, and in assuming public functions and senior administrative positions in the State. At least 25 percent of local council seats are allocated to women. The state is also committed to protecting women against all forms of violence, to enabling them to reconcile family duties with work requirements, to providing care and protection for mothers, children, dependent women, the elderly, the disabled and women in need. In the same context, Article 214 of the Constitution provides for the establishment of independent national councils, including the National Council for Women, granting it technical, financial and administrative autonomy, and the right to inform the public authorities of any violation of its sphere of work. In order to ensure the necessary opportunities for the advancement of women in society, the Government, together with the National Council for Women, has adopted a broad participatory process to implement the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030, in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution and with the sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations as the basis for development until 2030; these consist of three primary objectives: political empowerment, social empowerment and women's economic empowerment, while strengthening their leadership roles, as follows: 1. Political empowerment of women: a) The House of Representatives Law No. 46 of 2014 included the allocation of a set number of seats in each electoral list for women. The number of elected women deputies has now reached 76, with 14 appointed as deputies from a total of 90 deputies in the House of Representatives. The percentage of women participating in the House of Representatives has thus increased to more than 10 percent after being 1.5 percent in the 2012 Parliament. b) The President of the Republic proclaimed 2017 to be the Year of Women in Egypt. The 2030 Women's Empowerment Strategy was launched in cooperation with civil society organizations in parallel with Egypt's Vision 2030 initiative for sustainable development. In order to ensure the implementation of this strategy, the Egypt’s Women Observatory was established to monitor the implementation of the project, while a number of equal opportunities units were launched within various ministries. 57