CAIRO, EGYPT — In collaboration with the Gender and Development Group (GAD), the British Council in Cairo held a two-day celebration on March 9 and 10 on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.

Under the slogan “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”, the event gathered together a number of dignitaries to commemorate the economic, political and social achievements of women. Among those attendhing were: H.E. Ambassador Moshira Khattab, Minister of Family and Population; H.E. Suzan Blankhart, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Egypt; Dr. Ziad Rifai, Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Egypt on behalf of the GAD; and Julia Race, Deputy Director of the British Council. 

“Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced”, said Dr. Rifai, from UNFPA, quoting Albert Einstein. For Dr. Rifai, the issue of women’s rights is a development issue and there can never be development without the full participation of women themselves.

Dr. Rifai, emphasised the inequalities against women when it comes to income, healthcare, education, violence, job opportunities, political and economic participation. Also, women in rural areas such as Upper Egypt are more subjected to inequality that those on the urban areas, he said.

Dr. Rifai also remarked that women are especially vulnerable during times of crisis, whether it’s the global financial crisis, an earthquake, an armed conflict or even energy or health crises. Also in humanitarian settings, women and girls are especially vulnerable since pregnancy-related deaths and sexual violence soars.

“Integrated rights and equal opportunities equal full development,” said the Minister of Family and Population, H.E. Moshira Khattab. For this reason, achieving women’s rights is the first step towards democracy. Total removal of gender discrimination from laws, institutions and behavioural patterns must be a priority. Otherwise, “if half of the society is not getting their rights then there is no democracy,” she said.

For Suzan Blankhart, ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Egypt, this was a day to pay tribute to women around the world and also to celebrate the perseverance of women in Egypt. As she outlined, a positive step has been made in the social dialogue, and taboo subjects are now discussed more openly.

“In Egypt, much progress has been made in realizing women’s rights and human dignity”, she said, referring to the positive amendments to the Family Law and the Nationality Law, which grants women equal rights to men with respect to the nationality of their children. Despite all this progress in removing gender inequality from the Egyptian legal system, “gender discrimination still persists, specifically in the Personal Status Law and the Penal Code”, she said.

The event also included a variety of activities including open forum discussions about success stories by women with disabilities and the screening of several films like "Very Important", a movie on harassment produced by UNFPA with ECWR and the European Union.

The famous English actress Caroline Parker and the Egyptian playwright and actress Nora Amin both performed for the audience, making this activity one of the highlights of the event. Also, a number of organizations, including UNDP, UNFPA and UNIFEM, exhibited their work and publications supporting equality issues and social inclusion.