Egypt: Safer Cities for Girls
The Safer Cities for Girls program is centered around girls’ clubs, where girls learn about their rights and make plans to improve their communities.
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Stories from change-makers in Egypt
Amel is a proud Egyptian. She loves drawing the pyramids and the Sphinx. And she loves fighting for Egyptian girls’ rights.
Especially when it comes to female genital mutilation (FGM).
Egypt has the third-highest rate of FGM, behind only Guinea and Somalia. FGM is a traditional practice that is extremely dangerous for the girls who are forced to undergo it.
One of Amel’s friends bled to death after she was cut. It was after that tragedy that Amel convinced her parents to let her decide whether or not this would happen to her body. And she decided it would not.
After attending Plan awareness sessions, Amel came to fully understand how harmful FGM is. She’s now determined to make sure other girls are safe from it, too.
“I want to eradicate FGM from my village because it has many harmful effects,” Amel says. “It hurts a lot of the girls.”
With Plan, Amel has become a girls’ rights advocate in her community. She talks to girls and families about the negative impacts of FGM and encourages them to attend the awareness sessions.
Amel is optimistic that it will end — in fact, she can barely contain her excitement when she talks about it. She’s confident that change is happening, and she’s ready to keep up the fight.
Become an Advocate
Egypt has the third-highest rate of FGM, behind only Guinea and Somalia. FGM is a traditional practice that is extremely dangerous for the girls who are forced to undergo it.
One of Amel’s friends bled to death after she was cut. It was after that tragedy that Amel convinced her parents to let her decide whether or not this would happen to her body. And she decided it would not.
After attending Plan awareness sessions, Amel came to fully understand how harmful FGM is. She’s now determined to make sure other girls are safe from it, too.
“I want to eradicate FGM from my village because it has many harmful effects,” Amel says. “It hurts a lot of the girls.”
With Plan, Amel has become a girls’ rights advocate in her community. She talks to girls and families about the negative impacts of FGM and encourages them to attend the awareness sessions.
Amel is optimistic that it will end — in fact, she can barely contain her excitement when she talks about it. She’s confident that change is happening, and she’s ready to keep up the fight.
Hassan is part of a new generation of men in Egypt — one that sees harassment as unacceptable.
But he didn’t always feel this way.
“I used to think of girls as inferior and that I was better than them,” Hassan admits.
What changed? Hassan participated in Plan’s Safer Cities program, where he learned about gender equality and the dangers facing girls in Cairo. Now Hassan thinks it’s deeply unfair that girls are treated differently than boys.
“I realize that girls are equal,” Hassan says. “I have the right to play sports and leave the house in the evenings, and girls should too.”
Now when Hassan sees harassment on the streets (which is a huge problem in Egypt, affecting 99% of women), he can’t stand it. And he does something about it.
Hassan’s mother saw it in action. “I saw my son standing up for a girl who was being harassed,” she said. “He asked the boy to stop what he was doing. I was so proud.”
Learn more about Safer Cities
“I used to think of girls as inferior and that I was better than them,” Hassan admits.
What changed? Hassan participated in Plan’s Safer Cities program, where he learned about gender equality and the dangers facing girls in Cairo. Now Hassan thinks it’s deeply unfair that girls are treated differently than boys.
“I realize that girls are equal,” Hassan says. “I have the right to play sports and leave the house in the evenings, and girls should too.”
Now when Hassan sees harassment on the streets (which is a huge problem in Egypt, affecting 99% of women), he can’t stand it. And he does something about it.
Hassan’s mother saw it in action. “I saw my son standing up for a girl who was being harassed,” she said. “He asked the boy to stop what he was doing. I was so proud.”
Amany just did something that seemed impossible a few years ago: She graduated from school.
That seemed impossible because Amany was promised in marriage when she was just 15 years old.
“If it wasn’t for Plan International, I would have children now, and huge responsibilities I can’t handle,” says Amany.
When Plan first started working in Amany’s community, she was in middle school and thought marriage was the next best step for herself. Most girls in her community (and 17% of girls in all of Egypt) drop out of school to get married before they’re 18 years old.
Luckily, Amany started attending Plan workshops and learned about her rights. She realized an early marriage would be a mistake, and even more importantly, that she should be able to choose how to live her life.
Amany managed to convince her parents to call off the marriage. And she stayed in school — the place she loved to be.
“I was one of the smartest girls in my class,” says Amany. “I took part in a lot of different activities and my teachers depended on me.”
Amany is now planning to go to college. She has her mother’s support, but not her father’s and brother’s yet. That hasn’t changed her mind, though. Because she knows it’s her life and her decision.
Help girls like Amany stay in school
“If it wasn’t for Plan International, I would have children now, and huge responsibilities I can’t handle,” says Amany.
When Plan first started working in Amany’s community, she was in middle school and thought marriage was the next best step for herself. Most girls in her community (and 17% of girls in all of Egypt) drop out of school to get married before they’re 18 years old.
Luckily, Amany started attending Plan workshops and learned about her rights. She realized an early marriage would be a mistake, and even more importantly, that she should be able to choose how to live her life.
Amany managed to convince her parents to call off the marriage. And she stayed in school — the place she loved to be.
“I was one of the smartest girls in my class,” says Amany. “I took part in a lot of different activities and my teachers depended on me.”
Amany is now planning to go to college. She has her mother’s support, but not her father’s and brother’s yet. That hasn’t changed her mind, though. Because she knows it’s her life and her decision.
Plan International has been working to improve children’s lives in Egypt since 1981.
Our work in Egypt
Offices & operations
Plan International Egypt’s country office is in Cairo, with programs in Alexandria, Behera, Damietta, Kalyoubya, Giza, Assiut, Sohag and Qena.
Technical areas
Education, economic empowerment, health, youth engagement
Number of sponsored children
As of June 2022, people like you sponsor 24,178 children in Egypt through Plan International.
Our projects in Egypt
Gender equality is a fight we must all take on together. Through sponsorship, you can change lives and create long-term impact in communities.
The full circle of Fate
When you sponsor a child through Plan, you form an incredible friendship.
But that’s just the beginning. With Plan, you also have the unique opportunity to:
Send them birthday gifts and cards.
Give them special holiday presents called Little Treasures.
Subscribe them to Plan’s educational kids’ magazine, Sunny Days.
Arrange a visit (pending any travel restrictions), with individual travel assistance from us.
Each gift offering is safely hand-delivered by us, and given to your child with personalized cards from you. It’s likely that the child you sponsor will have never seen anything like these gifts, and with the exception of Little Treasures they’re available year-round to make the bond between you and your sponsored child even stronger.
Meet a child to sponsor