Egypt's NCW chair displays figures on FGM, women in top positions in meeting with EU parliamentarian

CAIRO – 11 July 2023: Chairperson of the National Council for Women (NCW) Maya Morsi displayed Monday in a meeting with Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the European Parliament David McAllister, who is on a visit to Egypt to learn about Egypt's efforts on the front of women empowerment and the main challenges with that regard.

The NCW chairperson pointed out the outcomes of launching the 2030 National Strategy for Women Empowerment in 2017 by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. That is in addition to the launch of an independent mechanism to monitor the implementation of the strategy, and that is "The Egyptian Woman Observatory."

Morsi noted that women compose 28 percent of parliamentarians, 25 percent of ministers, 27 percent of deputy ministers, 31 percent of deputy governors, and 25 percent of ambassadors.   

With regard to combating female genital mutilation (FGM), the percentage dropped from 21 percent in 2014 to 14 percent in 2021 in the age group 0-19, with also the expected cases falling from 56 percent to 27 percent.

The NCW had launched the awareness campaign "Dawwie" that reached half a million girls in-person, and 60 million individuals online. It also contributed to the creation of "Tahwisha" app targeting rural women with various banking services in a more simplified fashion.

Regarding women's health, 23 million females had access to free-of-charge medical check-ups, as they were tested for breast cancer and non-contagious diseases. In that context, the cases of breast cancer patients who suffer from third-stage and four-stage tumors have been halved.

The NCW chair underscored that cyber violence constitutes a global and pressing challenge to women's access to leading positions and participation in the decision-making process. McAllister agreed with the point, stressing that women empowerment in Egypt is a major area of cooperation that the European Union prioritizes.

On her side, Morsi lauded the existing cooperation between the NCW and the European union, and that is taking place in the form of many projects and programmes.