Dr. Maya Morsi, President of the National Council for Women, participated in the video conference meeting organized by the “National Training Academy” with the trainees of the first batch of the “Egyptian Women Abroad program”. The meeting discussed various women’s issues and answered questions about them, approaching the end of their training on empowering Egyptian women and their rights in the laws and the constitution, presented by a distinguished group of professors of the National Council for Women.
Dr. Maya Morsi began her speech by congratulating the graduates of this important program, and appreciating the efforts of the National Training Academy led by Ms. Rascha Ragheb, saying, “I am quite sure that female cadres in Egypt will be distinguished, thanks to these important training programmes,” emphasizing the importance of opening dialogue platforms, and wishing for more graduates from this program.
She also acknowledged the NCW’s national involvement in empowering Egyptian women and protecting them from all forms of violence directed against them.
Additionally, she praised the state’s efforts in empowering women in all fields, through two main programs, th “Decent Life” and the “National Program for the Development of the Egyptian Family”, where women and their needs are considered among their main pillars.
She also referred to the president’s initiative to support the health of Egyptian women, and the national program “Noura”, which aims to empower girls, and invest in them as leaders of the future.
Moreover, Dr. Morsi referred to the national strategy to empower Egyptian Women 2030, which was prepared by the Council and approved by the President as the governmental working document for the coming years.
Note that, Egypt was the first country in the world to issue a policy paper on responding to the special needs of women and girls in light of the Corona virus pandemic, and launched a mechanism to monitor the implementation of those policies, which spotted over 165 suggestions to support Egyptian women from March 2020 to January 2021, in the fields of labor market, protection from violence against women, social protection, policies responsive to women’s needs, financial and economic policies, as well as being the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to launch a “gender gap bridging catalyst”, based on the model of the World Economic Forum, which focuses on the economic empowerment of women and the promotion of partnership between the public and private sectors.
The President of the Council pointed out the launch of awareness programs for women on the importance of participating in elections, the right to vote, and training and guidance programs, as well as the issuance of national ID cards for women. Women’s constitutional rights have turned into laws, strategies, and executive programs, and a constitutional quota that guaranteed a 25% women representation in local councils, 10% in the Senate, and tangible presence in the boards of directors of financial companies, as well as the banking sector. Dr. Morsi also highlighted the importance of the political will in supporting women and the state’s various policies to support women’s participation in the labor market, and reviewed the laws and legislation issued by Egypt in regards to women’s economic empowerment.
Regarding the environmental aspect and the climate change crisis, in conjunction with Egypt’s hosting of the “COP 27” during the past few days, Dr. Morsi referred to features of the president’s initiative “African women climate adaptive priority” (AWCAP), which launched in cooperation with the main UN partner, the “United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women” UN-Women, stressing that it is a distinct initiative with a regional focus that gives Africa the opportunity to achieve the UN goals for climate change by empowering of women.
The “Egyptian Women Abroad” program is considered to be the first funded scholarship offered by the “National Academy for Training” under the auspices of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and the participation of the Ministry of State for Immigration and Affairs of Egyptians Abroad, as part of the state’s strategy to enhance the capabilities, knowledge and skills of women that guarantee them a place in the labor market to secure their economic well-being, and allows them to be re-employed in constantly-changing job markets. This program is the beginning of a series of programmes, initiatives and grants that will be directed to women in various categories.
The “National Training Academy” is led by Mrs. Rascha Ragheb, and aims to achieve the requirements of human development for youth cadres in all sectors of the country and to improve their abilities and skills. The Academy has integrated the principles of equality and women’s empowerment in its curriculum that target state employees.
