UN Women Launches 'Hand in Hand' Campaign to Engage Men and Boys in Unpaid Care Work across the Arab Region

[Press release]

Cairo, Egypt – UN Women today launched 'Hand in Hand’, a first-of-its-kind, youth-led social mobilization campaign aimed at increasing the participation of men and boys in household and childcare responsibilities across the Arab region. The campaign was launched on the International Day of Care and Support, observed annually on 29 October to raise awareness of the vital importance of recognizing and valuing care work and promoting equality between men and women in caregiving responsibilities.

Targeting youth aged 18- 35, the Hand in Hand campaign combines online and offline interventions to encourage men and boys to play an equal role in caregiving responsibilities and reduce the gap between men and women in time spent on unpaid care by 60 minutes in the Arab States.

According to UN Women’s data, women globally perform more than three-quarters of unpaid care and domestic work . In the Arab region, women are still performing many more hours than men in unpaid care work: between 17 and 34 hours per week, compared to only between 1 to 5 hours per week undertaken by men, depending on the country.

The campaign launch event featured Dr. Moez Doraid, UN Women Regional Director for the Arab States, campaign youth leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Palestine as well as the Egyptian content creator and radio host, Mahmoud AbdelMegeed - who has opened a discussion on positive fatherhood and participation of men and boys in household and childcare responsibilities through his social media platforms during last years.

In his opening speech, Dr. Moez Doraid Regional Director of UN Women Office for Arab States acclaimed the campaign’s role in aiming to address inequalities in household and childcare work in an action-oriented manner.

“The equal sharing of household responsibilities between males and females is key to achieve healthy and thriving families, communities and societies. Data from UN Women and partners reveals that engaged and positive fatherhood and positive masculinities leads to more empowered women and girls; additionally, it can positively contribute to children’s physical and mental health and to the wellbeing of men themselves,” said Dr. Doraid.

In his speech, content creator and radio host Mahmoud AbdelMegeed also highlighted the positive impact of men and boys’ participation in household and childcare responsibilities and engaged fatherhood on the wellbeing of families.

“I want my son to grow up knowing that what we do at home isn’t about helping — it’s about sharing responsibilities. Caring for your family isn’t a task; it’s a value that begins in the small, everyday moments — in who clears the table, who loads the laundry machine, who shows up to football practice. If my content online inspires even a few fathers and sons to do the same, then I'm proud of those shifts in our culture." AbdelMegeed added.

Hand In Hand campaign is expected to have an outreach of millions of people, who will be influenced by the actions of young men and young women from across the Arab region who take part in the campaign. This regional campaign embeds elements of face-to-face, social media, and mass media interventions. Social experiment videos filmed in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco serve as the campaign’s flagship creative outputs, featuring families who partook household and childcare responsibilities challenging their own perceptions on care responsibilities. An action-oriented youth-led digital platform was also created aiming to provide a digital space for tracking actions taken on unpaid care and where men can share personal caregiving stories.

This regional campaign is supported by the ‘Dare to Care’ regional program, an initiative by UN Women and partners, funded by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), GIZ (German International Development Cooperation), and the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation.

For more information and to join the conversation, follow #HandInHand and visit UN Women Regional Office on: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X |LinkedIn

Editor’s Note:

• A press kit is attached including links to campaign content.
• Photos from the launch event are available upon request.