Egyptian women "against poverty, injustice and corruption"

Egypt women after voting. (Photo:
Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Institute)

Source: AWID

"The gains women achieved over the last decades were not granted, rather the result of the hard work and struggle of women's rights movement and its supporters in Egypt and the Arab region", warned the Network of Women's Rights Organizations in Egypt (NWRO) in a statement launched this month. 

NWRO is a network of eleven NGOs working in the field of women and family rights. It was formed in 2005 as an initiative to build a shared vision and a framework for joint action among member organizations concerned with family rights. In its initial phase, NWRO paid special attention to the implications and consequences of informal marriage practices in Egypt on women and children. 

It focused mainly on advocacy, research, direct support, awareness-raising and capacity-building. At present, it focuses on contributing to the enactment of a new and more equitable family legislation that addresses the needs of all Egyptians, women and men alike. NWRO looks forward to build a sustainable framework of joint work which serves women’s issues and society at large.

NWRO members are the Association for Women and Society, the Association for Sinai’s Women Rights, Bashayer, CARE Egypt, the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance, the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS), the Egyptian Association for Comprehensive Development (EACD), the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement (EACPE, national focal point of Social Watch ), Egyptian Foundation for Family Development (EFFD), Forum for Women in Development (FWID), Association for Women and Development (WAD)

This is the complete NWRO's statement: 

The Network of Women’s Rights Organizations in Egypt (NWRO) believes that January 25th Revolution is a popular revolution where all segments of the society, men and women, risen against poverty, injustice and corruption. Therefore, the revolution should institute a new society based on the values of justice and equality to enhance human dignity for all. NWRO also believes that building a just and equal society requires the declaration of unequivocal positions against all attempts of justification of discrimination against women and all thoughts and practices abusive of human dignity.

Accordingly, it affirms that the state of rights and law is the one based on the values of full citizenship for all regardless of sex, religious believes, color, race or any other form of discrimination.

In this context, NWRO underscores that the gains women achieved over the last decades were not granted, rather the result of the hard work and struggle of women's rights movement and its supporters in Egypt and the Arab region. It insures that the achievements of women's rights movement are part and parcel of a wider movement that encompassed national fronts, legal and human rights initiatives to build a society respectful of human dignity, enhancing rights of women and men in the private and public spheres.

NWRO calls upon all the civil and political actors to adopt an approach of collaborative work towards building a just and equal society, and to synchronize efforts against all endeavors to degrade the dignity of women or abuse their rights under any political or cultural pretexts. NWRO announces its eagerness to vigorously work with all civil and political fronts to shoulder the social and political responsibility at this critical point in Egypt’s history. Inspired by the history and efforts of the women' rights and civil rights Egyptian movements, it will pursue working towards political and legislative reform, as well as values and cultural reform to eradicate all forms of discrimination against women; build sound Egyptian families respectful of men’s and women’s rights; uphold child interests; promote the values of respect and cordiality within families and the society at large.