People of Egypt: Salima el-Gebaly, woman against norms

CAIRO - 2 September 2017: Salima El-Gebaly is the first woman to obtain a secondary school certificate in the Bedouin community of Egypt. Originally from Mount Saint Catherine in Sinai, she obtained her degree and worked for years in Saint Catherine Park.

As a child, Salima used to watch the women raising the sheep in the mountains and collecting the herbs, or drawing what they saw using threads on fabrics. So, she decided to use this as the basis of her project; to document the traditional art and beauty of nature using handicrafts.


Handicrafts of Sinai Yadaweya website

In 2002, she initiated ‘Fan Sina’ or the art of Sinai project as a project for the local community helping woman to make incomes. The project started with only five women and today has reached 350 women from four different tribes in Sinai.


Handicrafts of Sinai Yadaweya website

‘Fan Sina's’ products are not just handicrafts, but they are a symbol for empowering women living in the tribal communities of Sinai, where they can pursue their passion and find opportunities to reach the global market, enabling them to make incomes as well.