Egypt
UN Women Egypt Country Office’s work is carried out in support of the Arab Republic of Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women (2030), and is grounded in the principles and targets contained in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Beijing Platform for Action.
Under the United Nations Cooperation Framework in Egypt (UNPDF 2018-2022), UN Women ECO implements its triple mandate of supporting normative standard setting and being a global source of knowledge on best practices and tools to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment; supporting UN Member States as they set and monitor global standards for achieving gender equality; works with the Government of Egypt, civil society and private sector in the implementation of the international and national commitments taken to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment; and supporting strengthened coordination of the UN System and Development partners in advancing gender equality.
UN Women Operational in Egypt since the early 1990s, the ECO has consolidated its expertise, partnerships, and investments into two key signature portfolios:
- Women’s Economic Empowerment through supporting rural women’s digital financial inclusion, advancing more women in management and leadership positions, young women’s entrepreneurship and employability, evidence-based advocacy for investing in care services, supporting private sector’s further uptake and implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPS), and supporting gender lens investing approaches. Under this portfolio, UN Women also supports women refugee and asylum seekers’ in accessing sustainable livelihoods; and
- Eliminating all forms of Violence Against Women and Girls through strengthening survivor-centred, pandemic responsive, multisectoral essential services with a particular focus on improved access to psycho-social and mental health support, Legal aid, safe shelter, and enhanced public safe spaces; advancing community and national level understanding of the root causes of violence against women and girls; and partnering in the support of legislative reform.
In all of UN Women’s work in Egypt, we partner with the Government of Egypt, and working with civil society and private sector in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Our strategies in all areas include the engagement of national stakeholders in regional and global normative forms; contributing evidenced-based, nationally-led legislative reform and the development of national knowledge products and tools on the gains and challenges to gender equality and women’s empowerment; supporting women’s access to skills, networks, and services and fostering platforms for their enhanced voice and leadership; supporting the development of innovative financing mechanisms and tools – including gender responsive budgeting – to advance gender equality commitments; and advancing nationally and community owned change around attitudes and behaviors which are at the root of gender-based inequalities, with priority being given to the engagement of men and boys as champions.
In fostering nationally-owned knowledge and social norm change, UN Women has worked closely with government entities, universities, and research institutions. A key example of such work is the UN Women-supported work with Cairo University and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), which has resulted in the Faculty of Economics and Political Science establishing the first Professional MA degree in Gender and Development, a two-year degree launched in Sept 2016 which was accredited by the Supreme Council for Higher Education. Each year, UN Women supports scholarships for individuals to enroll in this degree.
UN Women’s on-going work in Egypt is made possible through the generous partnership and support of our Development Partners, including: Canada/Global Affairs, the European Union, Japan, the Netherlands, Proctor & Gamble, South Korea/KOICA, Spain, Sweden/Sida, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America/USAID, and the UN Joint SDG Fund.