On day of the girls, a smile inside their suffering

Cairo-11 October 2017: On Day of the girl, the world celebrates every courageous girl who struggles for her freedom, education, safety, dignity and future. Egyptian society is full of these examples who impress us with their dedication and high spirit amid their hard live and sufferings. They just face the life with a happy face and never lose hope in a better future.


Aya - photo by Nour Adel

Aya works at a gas station in Cairo from 9:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. She studies media at university and decided to work to help her parents, without caring about what people will say about her. It is not common in Egypt for young girls to work at gas stations, although Aya says that another 5 girls also work with her and the managers are working to make her experience a positive one and keep the night shifts for their male colleagues.


Mariam - Photo by Nour Adel

Mariam, 13, works with her father at a pottery workshop in Old Cairo. Her role is to bring the pottery pots from the oven and put them in an open-air area. She says that she wears heavy clothing to protect her from the high degrees of heat beside the oven.


Shaimaa - Photo by Nour Adel
Shaimaa, 14, works with her uncle at a pottery workshop in old Cairo; while most of her family works at the workshop, she works with the pottery pots.