First Lady: Egypt achieves breakthrough in empowering women in recent years

CAIRO – 11 March 2021: Egypt’s First Lady Entissar el-Sisi gave a speech Thursday during the celebration of the Islamic World Organization for Education, Science and Culture, highlighting the efforts to empower women in the country over the past years.

“Egypt was able to achieve unprecedented breakthrough in empowering women, gender equality in recent years thanks to political will,” she said in her speech.

She added, “Egypt has launched a national strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030, in line with its Sustainable Development Goals.”

Entissar el-Sissi further stated that Egypt’s president was the main supporter for increasing women’s representation in the Egyptian parliament, in its two chambers by 27 percent, and in the Cabinet by 25 percent.

Regarding the legislation aspects, the First Lady went on saying that Egypt’s 2014 constitution includes more than 20 articles to guarantee women rights in various aspects of life.

“Egypt approved a package of law amendments to protect Egyptian women like: criminalization of inheritance deprivation, and heightening penalty of FGM, sexual harassment, and bullying,” she said.   

Entissar el-Sisi also went on explaining Egypt’s stance to protect women amid the prolonged combat against the Coronavirus pandemic. “Egypt took the lead in issuing a policy paper responding to women needs amid dealing with Coronavirus pandemic, and launched a mechanism in 2020 to monitor policies’ implementation,” she said.

Egypt ranked first in a UN report discussing measures taken by states to support women amid COVID pandemic, she added.

The First Lady further highlighted the decision to call the year 2017 as the “Year of Egyptian women” to reflect the status of Egyptian women in society.