Some studies indicate that households headed by women are the poorest of households headed by men, for example: in Egypt, 36% of rural households headed by women live in extreme poverty compared to 28% of households headed by men, due to women’s suffering from qualitative discrimination and inequality in access to basic services such as education, health and others, and Customs and traditions play a key role in entrenching qualitative discrimination

The problem of poverty emerges with the increase in the proportion of working women, which prompted thinkers to coin the term “feminization of poverty” in Egypt. The Egyptian state has tried to confront it with all courage by combating poverty in Egypt’s Sustainable Vision 2030, launching projects to empower women economically, and working effectively to confront the problem of debt, which has caused the disintegration and displacement of many families

Over the past decade, the problem of debt in Egypt has received unprecedented attention from the political leadership and put it at the forefront of priorities while working to solve it in all ways and with the concerted efforts of the government and civil society organizations.

The strategic forum for public policies and Development Studies “Draya” issues a research paper highlighting the reality of the problem of fines in Egypt, related indicators, challenges facing fines and finally the efforts of the state to deal with this problem.

The results and recommendations reached by the paper so that they can be put before the decision maker to contribute to developing alternative solutions that contribute to drying up the sources of debt are as follows:

1-  Carrying out a number of legislative reforms that allow replacing the penalty for indebted women and referring them from misdemeanors to civil courts, while replacing the prison penalty with civil service, where society benefits from the services of fined women instead of putting them in prison.

2- Conducting more social and economic studies to examine the causes of this phenomenon, study all its aspects, and develop appropriate solutions.

3- Creating channels for safe and easy borrowing within the framework of proactive interventions to prevent debtors from falling victim to exploiters and lending brokers.

4- Directing the faculties of social service in Egyptian universities to focus studies and research on the issue of debt and coordinating with the Ministry of Interior to find a mechanism for updating data and networking with the concerned authorities.

5- Implementing a media campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of debts and its negative effects on society

6- Preparing a map at the level of the various governorates of the Republic showing the poverty hotspots that are the concentration of male and female debtors, and targeting them with available plans and strategies to reduce the size of the debt.

7- Motivating mosques and churches to launch an intensive awareness campaign to educate citizens about the dangers of fines.

The first axis : the concept of indebted women 

A debtor woman can be defined as ” a woman who entered prison because of signing receipts to merchants as a result of purchasing devices or something similar in installments and failed to pay on time and subsequently entered prison for long periods, up to several years, and they are different from prisoners of murder, drugs, manners or theft” .

Debtors can also be defined as “women who resorted to debt to help their families improve economic conditions and overcome poverty, and were unable to pay on time, which caused them to go to prison”.
The increase in the number of debtors is due to three main reasons:

1-borrowing to buy marriage supplies, where the mother buys the supplies through exhibitions with a monthly installment system and the woman stumbles on the payment, and the matter enters the court.

2-the woman buys an item at an inflated price for a monthly installment and immediately sells it cheaply to take advantage of the cash to meet her urgent need and there is a default in paying the installments.

3-The Lady guarantees a relative in installments, and when the First party is unable to pay, the guarantor becomes debtor and is sued, and this type often affects older ladies, where their relatives or neighbors guarantee in installments for their daughters ‘ marriages.

The second axis: Indicators about the conditions and characteristics of debtors in Egypt.

The results of one of the studies conducted on the impact of social projects for  indebted Women   after their release from prison showed a number of characteristics about themselves . It should be noted that the period of data collection and analysis extended from the period 10/1/2020 to 10/3/2020 and its results were as follows:

Source: Study “The effectiveness of social projects in improving the quality of life of  indebted women ”..

The study concluded the following:

1- The percentage of indebted who are less than 25 years old is “zero.”The percentage of those aged 25 to less than 35 years was about 15%, and the percentage of those aged 35 to less than 45 years was 16%.
The percentage of those aged 45 to less than 55 years was 60%, and the percentage of those aged 55 years and over was 6%

2-The percentage of married women out of the total number of indebted was 25%, while the percentage of divorced women was 50% and the percentage of widows was 25%.

3- The percentage of illiterate indebted was 33%, the percentage of those who read and write was about 29%, and those with a below-average qualification was 25%, and the percentage of women with an average qualification was 13%, while the high qualification was (zero)

4-The percentage of indebted for housewives reached 22%, the percentage of women working in the government sector reached “zero” and the percentage of those working in the private sector reached 38%, as well as the percentage of fines for those working in self-employment amounted to 35%, while the percentage of those on pension reached 5%

In another study conducted by the “Misr Al-Kheir” Foundation on the conditions of debtors in Egypt, the results were as follows:

1- The phenomenon of indebted is not only related to women, but rather includes males to a greater extent. This is what studies have shown and the Foundation’s database shows that 68% of debtors are male, while only 32% are female.

2-The study indicated that 44% of indebted are in Lower Egypt and 46% are in Upper Egypt

The third axis: Challenges facing indebted women

1-The life challenges that indebted women are exposed to in prison: they face great psychological pressure from the time they sign receipts and commit the crime of non-payment until the time of sentencing. They also face other problems after the trial and during the sentence. These problems differ from one prisoner to another depending on the nature of her personality and the period she spends in prison. Prison, but most of them suffer from problems related to their relationships inside prison, as well as the pressures facing the families of indebted women

2- Challenges facing indebted women after their release

A- Social pressures: The indebted woman finds her family disintegrated and dispersed, and divorce or deviation may occur among the children, which leads to her losing self-confidence.
There are aspects that may lead to social pressure on released women:

1-Feeling alienated: This is due to economic, social and political changes that have occurred in society, and because they have been absent for a long time and their families have become accustomed to their absence, which increases their sense of remorse for what they committed against their children and family.

2-Family disintegration: In some families of indebted, family disintegration or separation may occur, and the children may deviate as a result of the lack of anyone to care for them or care about them.

3-Feeling of isolation: which leads to released female indebted feeling isolated from their family and society, and leads to their inability to form social relationships

B-economic challenges: these pressures are as follows:

1-the problem of unemployment and poverty
2-it was not possible to attach the released from the indebted women to government and civil works

3-sychological challenges: released indebted women may face aversion from society as they are perceived by members of society as criminals, and ways of working are closed to them.

The fourth axis: the efforts of the Egyptian state

1- Issuing a decision by the President of the Republic to release all indebted (women and men) in correctional and rehabilitation centers during the celebration honoring the Egyptian woman and the exemplary mother in 2023, which included the release of 85 people.

2- Forming the National Committee for indebted (men and women) in order to study and solve the causes and solutions to the problem of debts in Egypt.

3- President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi launched the “Egypt Without indebted women” initiative in 2015, and in 2018 he also launched the “Egypt Prisons Without indebted” initiative, with great support from the “tahya misr” Fund, which allocated nearly 30 million pounds for this initiative, in addition to the release. About 6,400 cases from various prisons until 2019.

4- The “tahya misr” Fund allocated an amount of 12 million pounds in 2016 to 1,400 indebted both male and female

5- The Ministry of Social Solidarity paid the debts of 451 debtors, in 18 governorates, in cooperation with the Al-Masry Foundation for Development and Education, at a cost of approximately 8.5 million pounds, to release them

6-The state released 5,784 indebted in the period from 2020 to 2023, at a cost amounting to 224 million pounds.

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In 2016, Egypt launched its national plan to achieve sustainable development, “Egypt Vision 2030”, which sets priorities for National Action and a roadmap towards a better future.

The Egyptian vision emphasizes the importance of improving the standard of living for all social groups by providing appropriate education and providing an adequate health system
،
The health of Egyptian women( representing half of society and affecting it as a whole ) is of great importance in Egypt’s Vision 2030.

During a celebration honoring Egyptian women in 2019, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for launching an initiative to preserve women’s health, which included conducting a comprehensive medical screening campaign to detect breast cancer, raising the slogan “The Egyptian woman is the health of Egypt.”

In this context, the Strategic Forum for Public Policy and Development Studies “Draya” issues a research paper that sheds light on the details of the presidential initiative to support Egyptian women’s health and the achievements achieved in this regard, as well as the efforts of the Egyptian state to support women’s health

The most important findings and recommendations that can be used to support and develop the current state efforts in the field of improving the health status of Egyptian women :

– Launching a national media campaign in which traditional media and social media contribute to the importance of women’s health and its impact on her family and how to benefit from presidential campaigns, especially those concerned with the detection of cancerous tumors, communicable and chronic diseases and related to maternal and Child Health.

– Establishing a strong national database on the common maternal diseases among women and the extent of their prevalence in different governorates of Egypt and the age groups most susceptible to these diseases.

– Intensifying home visits for women, especially in rural and remote areas, and raising their awareness to detect the incidence of some diseases, especially breast cancer through self-examination.

-Dedicating the celebration in the month of October under the slogan “Pink October” to raise awareness among women about ways to combat cancer, especially breast cancer, and to spread more culture of prevention methods and raise awareness of the importance of early detection and methods of psychological rehabilitation for those infected during the treatment period.

– Increasing the number of mobile women’s health units, especially in remote areas and villages of Upper Egypt and its countryside.

– Follow-up of women who have a genetic history of cancer in the family and make sure to conduct periodic examinations for them.

– Intensifying awareness campaigns and organizing more seminars for women in order to spread awareness about cancer, especially in border governorates and remote areas.

– Expanding the establishment and equipping of health units that provide mammogram and sonar services in all governorates of the Republic, all villages, hamlets, border and remote areas.

– Activating and increasing the sending of text messages to remind women of the dates of their periodic visit to health units and survey their opinions.

– Developing an integrated program of psychological support, nutrition, education and physiotherapy services for patients with cancerous tumors with the rehabilitation of their families during the various stages of treatment and even after the completion of the recovery process.

The first axis: the presidential initiative to support the health of Egyptian women

In 2019, Egypt launched the initiative of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for the early detection of breast tumors in all governorates of the Republic for free. it targets treatment and full awareness of the causes of the disease and the mechanisms of self-examination of benefits, as well as the detection of noncommunicable diseases (diabetes, blood pressure, weight and height measurement, body mass index, the level of obesity or overweight), and attention to women’s reproductive health, which includes screening and providing awareness to women from the age of 18 for free, the total cost of the initiative is 278 million pounds.

* The first phase of the initiative includes governorates (Alexandria-Port Said– Beheira – Fayoum – Assiut – Qalyubia – Matrouh – South Sinai-Damietta).

* The second phase includes governorates (North Sinai-Red Sea-Cairo – Ismailia – Suez – Kafr el Sheikh – Menoufia – Beni Suef – Sohag – Luxor-Aswan).

* The third stage includes the governorates (New Valley – Giza – west – Dakahlia – East – Minya – Qana)

Implemented within the framework of the initiative:

– Preparing a list of targeted women in the neighborhood and governorate and following the system of systematic periodic screening according to the history of the disease in the family, age and genetic factors, and developing the necessary plan to implement the campaign.screening services were also provided to women on the initiative through 3,538 health units at the level of the governorates of the Republic, as well as 114 hospitals to provide medical service to women whose condition requires an Advanced examination.

– Providing knowledge of the places of examination through the official website of the initiative http://www.100millionseha.eg.

– Receiving inquiries about the initiative through the hotline of the 100 million health initiative 15335, 24 hours a day in Arabic and English, where 117 thousand and 486 calls were received.

– Sending about one million and 500 thousand text messages on women’s mobile phones to urge them to continue monitoring their health status within the initiative periodically.

– Developing direct means of communication between the citizen and the ministry, such as Facebook pages, the automatic response feature on the “WhatsApp” application, the ministry’s website and the Egypt health application.

– Providing the latest international treatment protocols for breast cancer treatment free of charge within the initiative, within the vision of the political leadership to pay attention to the public health of Egyptian citizens and women.

– Developing the infrastructure in health units and hospitals to work within the initiative, by increasing the number of devices used in diagnostics, which include sonar and mammogram devices, and pathology laboratories.

– Training of all medical teams working within the initiative, which amounted to 20 thousand and 89 medical teams, including each of them (doctors, nurses, radiology technicians), as well as training data entry and administrators, to ensure the provision of the best level of medical service

Achievements :

The initiative succeeded in achieving unprecedented achievements in the detection and treatment of women free of charge and at the expense of the state, and these achievements included the following:

– On June 17, 2023, the Ministry of Health and population announced the reception of 36 million and 464 thousand visits from women to receive examination and awareness services, within the framework of the president’s sustainable initiative to support Egyptian women’s health, since its launch in July 2019 .

– Visits are divided into 19 million, 658 thousand, 448 visits for the first time, 9 million, 247 and 592 periodic visits, 7 million, 557 thousand and 967 casual visits .

-548 thousand and 126 women visited hospitals to conduct Advanced examinations within the initiative.

– The initiative provides its free services for the examination of women through 3538 health units at the level of the governorates of the Republic, in addition to the participation of 102 hospitals, to provide medical service to women whose condition requires an Advanced examination, and inquiries can be received through the hotline of the initiative “100 million health” on the number 15335.

– 29,331 cases were presented and discussed through the multidisciplinary MDT committee in the field of oncology, within the initiative, in order to make a unified treatment decision, as the initiative follows the latest international protocols for the treatment of breast cancer, through 14 centers affiliated to the Ministry of Health and population, in addition to activating these protocols in 14 centers affiliated to the Supreme Council of University Hospitals and free of charge, and these centers are being equipped for Applied Research in order to reach advanced research centers in the treatment of oncology, within the vision of the political leadership to pay attention to the public health of citizens.

-19,674 cases of breast cancer have been detected, and 298,854 mammograms have been performed since the launch of the initiative, in addition to withdrawing 29,764 tumor samples for analysis, and providing free treatment for cases that have been confirmed .

– Follow-up treatment of injured women, whether subject to health insurance, or the treatment system at the expense of the state. As part of the keenness to raise the efficiency of service providers, 24,208 training programs were provided to medical teams, including (doctors, nurses and radiology technicians), in addition to providing training programs for data entry and administrators and returning those training programs to ensure the provision of the best level of medical service.

– The centers providing mammogram and sonar services have been expanded to 71 centers, compared to 13 centers in 2019, as well as 60 laboratories in microspecialties, in addition to the pathology laboratory of the Dar es Salaam Oncology Center (Hermel), which was accredited by the American College of pathologists.

– According to the statements of the minister of Health / Dr. Khalid Abdul Ghaffar, the initiative is based on a set of basic pillars, the most important of which are: (early detection, data management, training for medical teams, and modern scientific research), explaining that early detection and diagnosis work is carried out through 70 highly equipped laboratories and 71 radiology centers, stressing the importance of advertising campaigns and awareness and health education activities, through communication with women in their places of residence and work, pointing out that more than 36 million visits have been made, and providing health awareness to more than 20 million women from the age of 18. He also explained that the initiative has succeeded in achieving its goal of early detection of tumors according to innovative and effective treatment lines in line with global updates, announcing the arrival of high rates of detection of the disease in the first and second stages.

– The percentage of conservative surgeries increased to 34.25% by the end of 2022, compared to 31.5% by the end of 2021, and the percentage of conservative resection surgeries increased to 60%, pointing to the activation of protocols for surgical treatment of breast tumors, and the activation of a unified protocol for chemotherapy in accordance with international guidelines in this regard.

– The initiative’s services in 2022 included sending 9 million text messages to remind ladies of the dates of their periodic visits and polling their opinions.

The second axis: the efforts of the Egyptian state to support women’s health ..

Egypt has made enormous and unprecedented efforts to preserve and support women’s health and provide all health services to them:

1-the Presidential Initiative “Egyptian women are the health of Egypt”, which targeted (210,920), and included the themes of the campaign: early detection of tumors” breast cancer”, noncommunicable diseases (diabetes, pressure, obesity), heart disease and osteoporosis
.
2-the state launched the presidential initiative to support Egyptian women’s Health, which has successfully examined 33.8 million women so far and 1.8 million through the maternal and fetal health care initiative so far, as well as 2 million women beneficiaries of the comprehensive health insurance system since its launch, by 49.3%

3-Bahia initiative: the National Council for women has adopted the launch of the ” Bahia initiative” to urge women to collect material donations for the treatment of breast cancer patients and early detection campaigns for free, and the council also conducts field visits to the hospital moral support for female patients:

– The number of beneficiaries of the Bahia initiative and the donation campaign led by the council reached {134,000} benefiting from early detection, free treatment and pre-treatment examinations.
– Equipping a room in the name of the National Council for women at the hospital.

– Conducting (5) field visits to Bahia hospital, and honoring (120) female veterans recovering from the disease in a ceremony held by the hospital.

– Launching the “ladies of Egypt ” initiative to alleviate the waiting lists and participate in providing material and in-kind support to the hospital, and the “Protect Your Family protect Egypt… Bahiya in your back ” initiative to facilitate the access of hormone therapy for patients with the outbreak of the corona epidemic.
– Participation in the foundation stone laying ceremony at Bahia Hospital, Sheikh Zayed branch.

– To stimulate the efforts of government, civil society and civil society to raise awareness of the importance of “early detection of breast cancer for Egyptian women ” and also the council coordinated between different entities to integrate individual roles.

– The council launched the “journey of hope with breast cancer” program, within the framework of the “100 million health” initiative, which is a free campaign to raise awareness and early screening for breast cancer, using the mammography device “mammogram”, to educate women about the method of self-detection.

5-launching the presidential initiative to support maternal and fetal health, in March 2020, at a cost of 55.5 million pounds, 1.48 million women out of 1.5 million targeted women have been examined

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The world is currently depending on measuring the level of progress of any society and its interest in human development through two basic criteria, which are the political participation of women, and their empowerment in all fields after depriving them of exercising their political rights in the old decades and excluding them from participation in all fields.

In this context, the current political leadership of Egypt believes in the necessity of integrating women politically and pushing them towards promotion to higher government positions, in line with the democratic transformation that the country is witnessing, and in the interest of achieving comprehensive development.

Challenges facing women’s political empowerment

-Masculine culture: Egyptian women are still captive to a rigid culture that defines roles for men and women and deepens images of discrimination between them.

-Religious discourse: The collective awareness of Egyptians with regard to women’s issues and their political participation is affected by some interpretations and jurisprudential opinions that oppose their work and vary between absolute rejection and partial rejection.

-The high rate of illiteracy among women: The fact that women do not have access to education makes their opportunity to participate in political life very difficult, even impossible.

-The weakness of the role of civil society organizations in empowering women politically, as it is still far from supporting the political role of women, and raising community awareness of the effectiveness of their role in achieving the comprehensive development of society.

 Efforts of the state to support woman political empowerment

1- Constitutional and legislative mechanisms:

A-   Women in constitutional texts:

The 2014 constitution provided real opportunities to eliminate discrimination against women and stimulate their political participation, in a way not seen in previous Egyptian constitutions.

B- Laws supporting the political empowerment of women: Since 2014, the country has witnessed a legal momentum with regard to laws and decisions related to women, the most prominent of which are the following:

-Parliament Law No. 46 of 2014, which stipulates a number of seats for women in the list system (not less than 25% of the total number of seats).

-Law No. 45 of 2014 promulgating the Law Regulating Political Participation.

-Law No. 141 of 2020 of the Senate Law provides for the allocation of no less than 10% of seats for women, out of the total number of seats.

2- Decisions supporting the political empowerment of women:

Laws were issued to empower women in senior management positions, as follows:

– The Central Bank amended the governance rules to form the boards of directors of banks and to stipulate the presence of at least two women on the boards of directors of banks in 2021.

– The General Authority for Financial Supervision also issued Decision No. (48/2022) stipulating that no less than 25% or two women should be represented on the boards of directors of companies and non-bank financial entities.

3- Supporting strategies and programs:

A- The National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030:

The strategy is consistent with the 2014 Constitution, Egypt’s Vision 2030 and is integrated with its work axes that seek to build a just society characterized by equal rights and opportunities, and achieve the highest degrees of cohesion, solidarity and integration.

The vision of the Women’s Empowerment Strategy 2030 is based on the fact that by 2030 Egyptian women will become major actors in achieving sustainable development. Achieving this vision requires action through four axes: “political empowerment and strengthening women’s leadership roles, economic empowerment, social empowerment, and protection.”

With regard to the axis of political empowerment, the general objective is to stimulate women’s political participation in all its forms, including parliamentary representation at the national and local levels, and to prevent discrimination against women in assuming leadership positions in executive and judicial institutions, and to prepare women for success in positions.

The strategy identified a number of indicators to measure the impact of the political empowerment axis, including the percentage of females out of the total participants in the elections, and it was 44% in 2014. The strategy aims to reach 50% in 2030.  Percentage of women’s representation in Parliament in 2016 was 15%, and the target in 2030 is to reach 35%. Percentage of female representation in local councils in 2014 was 25%, and the strategy aims in 2030 to reach 35%. Percentage of females in judicial bodies was 0.5% in 2015, and the target in 2030 is to reach 25%. Percentage of females in public positions was 5% in 2015, and the target is 17%. In 2030, Percentage of females in senior management positions was 19% in 2015, and the target in 2030 is to reach 27%.

The strategy identified a number of interventions to reach these percentages, as follows:

-Enhancing the role of women as voters: by completing the issuance of national identification cards for all women in all governorates.

-Increasing the representation of women in elected parliaments and enhancing their performance by identifying women leaders to train them to carry out the tasks of parliamentary representation, and developing programs to support women candidates for the House of Representatives in a way that helps them gain the confidence of voters.

– Enhancing opportunities for women to assume leadership positions in all judicial bodies and setting criteria for selecting candidates for judicial office that avoid discrimination against women and prioritize competence.

-Increasing women’s assumption of leadership positions in the executive agencies of the state through the development of integrated programs for young women leaders to prepare them to assume positions and train them to carry out their tasks.

B- The National Strategy for Human Rights (2021-2026): It was launched in 2021 and contains four axes, and it has a special section on “women’s rights.”

C- The “Women’s Executive Leadership” program to build the capacities of female government employees.

D- The “Women Leading the Future” program, which is a mentoring program for young women to develop their leadership and management skills and build their capacities.

4- Measures supporting women’s political empowerment

A- Expanding the number of community education schools, in which girls constituted the largest percentage of enrollment at 67.31%.

B- Establishing equal opportunity units at the level of government institutions and some private sector institutions, which aim to ensure a safe work environment that prevents discrimination, and to improve the conditions of Egyptian women in all fields.

c- The development of microfinance balances directed to women, as it contributed significantly to supporting women, and females accounted for 62% of the number of beneficiaries.

  Recommendations to activate women’s participation in political work 

The state is making efforts to achieve gender equality and empower women politically, but the process of political empowerment of women still needs to take more measures and decisions to overcome any obstacles:

– Working on reviewing and amending laws related to women’s rights, especially personal status, and those related to increasing the percentage of their representation in state institutions and enhancing their participation in assuming leadership positions in their societies.

-Developing a clear plan by the media in order to modify the stereotyped image of women, and to reveal the reality of their abilities that qualify them to participate in public and political life in particular.

-Increasing the financial support allocated to the process of qualifying and building the capacities of women cadres in all fields

– Empowering women in the economic field and increasing their participation in the production process is a necessity to enable them to participate in politics and occupy a prominent position in political decision-making.

– The necessity of providing accurate statistics and the necessary information on the volume of women’s political participation, and working on developing indicators that measure progress in women’s empowerment at the personal, societal and institutional levels.

– The need for political parties, trade unions and civil organizations to develop policies and mechanisms to ensure fair representation of women.

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The world is currently depending on measuring the level of progress of any society and its interest in human development through two basic criteria, which are the political participation of women, and their empowerment in all fields after depriving them of exercising their political rights in the old decades and excluding them from participation in all fields.

In this context, the current political leadership of Egypt believes in the necessity of integrating women politically and pushing them towards promotion to higher government positions, in line with the democratic transformation that the country is witnessing, and in the interest of achieving comprehensive development.

The focus will be on the axis of political empowerment and strengthening the leadership roles of women 2030, given the obstacles that faced their political participation throughout history, through 6 axes:

First Axis: concept of political empowerment.

Second Axis: dimensions and elements of political empowerment.

Third Axis: indicators of political empowerment of women in Egypt.

The paper’s main findings are as follows:

1- The representation of women in the current government is 18%, compared to 6% in 2015 and 2.8% in 2013.

2-The percentage of women as deputy ministers increased from 17% in 2017 to 22.2% in 2022, with two women out of 9 deputies.

3- The number of assistant ministers reached 41.4% in 2019, while the percentage of women in the position of deputy governor reached 30.4% in 2019.

-4 The percentage of women assuming leadership positions in the Ministry of Local Development was about 34.4%, and 33% in the Petroleum Authority and Holding Companies, and in the Ministry of Electricity it was about 43%, and about 40% in the Ministry of Health and 43% in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

5- The representation of women in the Egyptian diplomatic cadre in 2021 reached about 30% of the total number of diplomats.

6- The percentage of women’s representation in Parliament 2020 is about 27%, which is the highest percentage of women in the history of the Egyptian Parliament, which made Egypt rank 16th in the world, and the first in the Arab world in terms of women’s representation in Parliament.

7- Egypt advanced 48 places in the index of women’s political empowerment in the Global Gender Gap Report.

The paper present a number of recommendations:

1- Reviewing and amending laws related to women’s rights, especially personal status laws, and increasing their representation in various institutions and enabling them to assume leadership positions.

2- Coordinating between state institutions, civil society, and the media to adopt an expanded campaign to raise awareness of women’s successes in many fields, and to enhance society’s confidence in the capabilities and competence of Egyptian women and their ability to assume leadership positions.

3- Increasing the financial support allocated to the process of qualifying and building the capacities of women cadres in all fields and training them on leadership, management, decision-making, planning, communication and influence skills.

4- Political parties, trade unions, and civil organizations develop policies and mechanisms to ensure fair representation of women and push them towards assuming leadership positions within them, and prepare and qualify them to run in legislative elections.

First: political empowerment of women concept 

Empowerment is the removal of all stereotypical processes, trends and behaviors in society and institutions that marginalize women and other groups and put them in lower ranks.

As for the political empowerment of women, it means their access to decision-making and leadership positions that influence decision-making or policy development or it is to make women possess the strength, capabilities and ability to be an active element in change, especially political development.

political empowerment of women concept is linked to self-realization and enhancing their capabilities to participate in political life, such as parliamentary representation, access to decision-making positions, and drawing up public policies, by relying on policies and procedures and adopting constitutional and legal legislation that guarantees the elimination of all practices of discrimination and exclusion to which women are exposed.

Second: Dimensions and components of women’s political empowerment

The political empowerment of women involves two dimensions: the subjective dimension: which appears through the individual awareness of women in terms of their sense of the circumstances surrounding them, and their ability to obtain new knowledge in all areas of life, and the social dimension: which appears through creating an environment conducive to the political integration of women in the form that It gives it the full ability to bring about change within society as one of the engines of development in society.

A set of elements that are necessary for the political empowerment of women to be achieved:

-A constitutional and legislative environment that supports women’s orientation towards political participation and their assumption of leadership and senior political positions.

-A community environment that believes in the role of women as an essential and active partner in various community issues and as pioneers of change and development.

-A supportive cultural environment for women’s political participation by increasing societal awareness and changing stereotypes about the role of women.

-Media support women’s participation in political life and contribute to changing the prevailing stereotype of women, especially in light of patterns of discourse hostile to the idea of ​​women’s participation.

-United Nations indicators to measure the concept of empowerment of women:

·Women’s participation in leadership positions, in committees and public positions.

· Providing non-traditional education and training opportunities for women.

· Women’s participation in the decision-making process.

· Women acquire organizational skills and abilities to create groups to demand rights.

Third: Indicators of political empowerment of women in Egypt

We can review the most important indicators of the political empowerment of Egyptian women as follows:

1-Women in the executive branch:

A. Ministers:

Women obtained 6 ministerial portfolios within the Council of Ministers, representing 18% of the total number of ministers in the current government, compared to 6% in 2015 and 2.8% in 2013. The female ministers are: Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Culture, Nevine El-Kilani, Minister of Social Solidarity, Nevine El-Kabbaj, Minister of State for Immigration and Affairs of Egyptians Abroad, Soha Gendy, and Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Saeed.

It is noticeable here that women hold ministries that are closer to the traditional roles of women imposed by society, with limited exceptions confined to the ministries of investment, international cooperation and planning, while sovereign ministerial positions were and still are the preserve of men.

B. Senior management positions:

The development of the  women presence  in senior management positions, as the percentage of women as assistant ministers increased from 17% in 2017 to about 22.2% in 2022, with two women out of 9 assistant. While the percentage of women in the position of assistant governor reached 30.4% in 2019.

The percentage of women assuming leadership positions within ministries, according to the follow-up report on the activities of ministries 2019-2020 issued by the National Council for Women, was about 34.4% in the Ministry of Local Development, 33% in the Petroleum Authority and Holding Companies, and in the Ministry of Electricity it reached about 43%, and about 40% in Ministry of Health and 43% in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

c-Diplomatic and consular corps

The representation of women in the Egyptian diplomatic cadre in 2021 reached about 30% of the total number of diplomats, which reflects the keenness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its interest in women joining the diplomatic work. More than ten female ambassadors also hold the positions of head of a diplomatic mission and consul general abroad, thus increasing the percentage by 7.5% compared to 2012, when the representation of women in the diplomatic and consular corps was 22.5%. Despite this, the proportion of women is still weak compared to men in occupying these jobs.

D. Local Administration

Local administration units

The percentage of women’s representation in the various local administration units is very weak, as there are only a limited number of women who occupy the positions of assistant  governors, heads of neighborhoods and mayors.

Local councils

For the first time in Egyptian constitutions, the 2014 constitution stipulated allocating a quarter of seats for women in local councils, but no elections have been held so far, the last of which was in 2008, when the percentage of women’s representation was 7.4%.

2-Women in the legislative power

Parliament:

In the House of Representatives elections in 2020, women won 162 seats in Parliament (the appointment system is 14 women, 148 women are by the electoral system) out of a total of 564 seats, which represents about 27% in the House of Representatives. This percentage is the highest in the history of parliament, which made Egypt rank 16th in the world, and the first in the Arab world in terms of women’s representation in Parliament in 2020.

Figure No. (1) shows the proportions of women’s representation in the House of Representatives according to the quota system

Senate:

The percentage of women in the Senate reached 14%, with 41 seats out of a total of 300 seats, compared to 2.7% in 2012, and a woman was appointed for the first time to the position of Deputy Senate.

It should be noted here that the “quota” mechanism for allocating seats contributed to increasing the number of women in parliament, but this measure remains incomplete as long as it did not contribute to integrating women into the electoral process and enhancing their ability to gain the confidence of the electorate.

3- Women in the judiciary

A-    The Constitutional Court: A judge – Dr. Fatima Mohamed Ahmed Al-Razzaz, Dean of Law of Helwan – was appointed as a assistant  the Supreme Constitutional Court in 2020. She is the second woman to be appointed to the court since its inception in 1969, after the late Chancellor Tahani Al-Jabali, who was appointed in 2003.

B-    The High Judiciary: The number of female judges reached about 66, divided into 6 with the rank of chief of appeal, 16 assistant chief of appeal, 32 chief of court, and 13 with the rank of judge, after 31 female judges were appointed in 2007, then another group was appointed in 2008, then A third group in 2015 includes 26 women who were appointed as judges of the courts of first instance. To date, this is a small number, as there are more than 16,000 judges.

C- The State Lawsuits Authority: The percentage of female judges in the State Lawsuits Authority reached about 20% during 2021. Six women counselors were appointed as vice-chairmen of the State Lawsuits Authority in 2017.

d – Public Prosecution: 11 female judges were appointed to the Public Prosecution, for the first time after the approval of the Supreme Judicial Council, based on a request submitted by the Public Prosecutor, Counselor Hamada Al-Sawy, to transfer 11 female judges to work for the Public Prosecution, with their grades corresponding to the judiciary, to work for the Public Prosecution for the judicial year 2021/2022, and also for the first time. The door is opened for females to apply for the position of assistant public prosecutor in 2022.

4- Women in political parties, trade unions and civil society organizations 

Women’s participation in political parties is still very weak, not exceeding 5%, especially since most parties’ regulations do not provide for allocating a specific percentage for women. In addition, women did not assume the position of president of a political party, its official spokesperson, or its secretary-general, so men occupy such positions, and the role of women is limited to women’s committees, social and service work, and organizing events and seminars. Women’s participation in political parties is still very weak, not exceeding 5%, especially since most parties’ regulations do not provide for allocating a specific percentage for women.

At the level of professional syndicates, which number about 25, we find that their regulations do not take into account the gender dimension, and women are not represented fairly.

With regard to non-governmental organizations, the gap between the representation of men and women in decision-making positions is evident in favor of men, and despite the participation of women in field and administrative work, they are excluded from leadership positions, especially in rural societies that are still dominated by a patriarchal culture.

As a result of the serious steps taken by the Egyptian state in the path of women’s empowerment at the political level, Egypt has advanced by about 48 ranks in the women’s political empowerment index in the Global Gender Gap Report, reaching its best level in 10 years, as it occupied the 78th position in 2021 compared to the 126th position in 2011. It also advanced 70 places in the indicator of women’s representation in parliament, as it occupied the 66th position in 2021, compared to the 136th position in 2020.

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“Digital violence” is the most dangerous type of violence that women who use social networking sites in particular are facing recently, with the increase in the scope of the Internet where virtual life intersects with reality, restrictions are broken, and privacy vanishes, which may represent a threat to societal stability in general.

Given the growing form of violence and its serious repercussions on societies, the Strategic Forum for Public Policies and Development Studies “Draya” issues this report, which deals in detail with the definition of the concept of “digital violence”, its types, repercussions and indicators at the Arab and local levels, as well as the efforts of the Egyptian state to confront this phenomenon and presenting some proposals that may contribute to reducing it.

The report addresses this issue through the following axes:

First: the concept of digital violence

Second: the characteristics and types of digital violence

Third: the repercussions of digital violence on women

Fourth: Indicators of the prevalence of digital violence against women in the Arab world and locally

Fifth: The Egyptian state’s efforts to confront violence against women

Sixth: Proposals to confront digital violence against women

Seventh: Proposals to confront digital violence against women

First: the concept of digital violence against women

The United Nations defines violence against women in general as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women and girls, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation.” freedom, whether in the public or private sphere. Violence against women and girls includes, but is not limited to, physical, sexual and psychological violence that occurs in the family or within the general community, and is committed or condoned by the state.”

Based on the fact that digital violence against women is an extension and perpetuation of violence against her in the real world, digital violence can be defined as “the deliberate behavior of an individual or group of individuals through one of the techniques of electronic social networking sites and its various tools with the aim of material or moral harm to others.” “.It can also be defined as any act of violence against women that is committed using mobile phones, the Internet, text messages, e-mail, or social media.

Second: Characteristics and types of digital violence

Successive technological developments have imposed a number of features of digital or electronic violence that have made it more impactful on women victims than other forms of violence, which can be summarized in the following characteristics:

1- More severe in its repercussions than the methods of traditional violence: the perpetrators of this type of crime enjoy the possibility of concealing their real names and identities, and the extent of his crimes impact on the victim is not known, which may sometimes lead to suicide for fear of stigma, discrimination or defamation that the female may be subjected to. or her family.

2-Global and transnational: This type of violence against women is not prevented by the boundaries of space or time. Technological progress is also used to diversify the form and content of violent, aggressive and illegal practices at any time, transcending geographical and temporal boundaries without any restrictions.

3-Evolving and continuing: Electronic violence is constantly evolving with the development of modern technological methods that help the impact of this violence to remain for a long time. It is also a continuous behavior in most of its cases, as in cases of insult, slander and defamation, unless the perpetrator is caught and technical intervention is made to end these crimes.

4- The ease of its occurrence and the speed of its spread: This is due to the rapid spread of malicious and false information and rumors and  the ease of access to them, and they are often irretrievable. Once they are published on the Internet, the offender cannot stop them.

5- Absence of physical interaction: There is no physical interaction between the communicating parties (the perpetrator – the victim), and it does not require great energy in confronting the victims like traditional violence, and it also depends on mental and mental skill and competence, not the physical.

6- Easy access to the victim and the difficulty of her self-defense: Social media enabled the perpetrators to reach the victim at any time and in any place, and at the same time made it very difficult for the victim to defend herself or avoid this type of violence.

The United Nations Women’s Organization has identified the types of digital violence directed against women in 6 forms as follows:

1- Hacking: using the technology to illegally or unauthorized access to women’s systems or accounts for the purpose of obtaining personal information, changing or modifying their information, or defaming and discrediting the target victim.

2- Impersonation: Technology is used to carry the identity of the victim or another person in order to gain access to private information, embarrass or disgrace the victim, communicate with them, or create false identity documents.

3- Tracking: Technology is used to stalk and monitor the victim’s activities and behaviors, either at the time of their occurrence or which occurred earlier.

4- Harassment: the use of technology to continuously communicate, disturb, threaten or intimidate the victim, provided that this behavior is repeated and continuous and not a single incident, through continuous calls, text messages, voice mail or e-mail.

5- Recruitment: Technology is used to attract potential victims in cases of violence, for example fraudulent jobs and advertisements, whether on social media or job opportunity sites.

Third: The repercussions of digital violence on women

The repercussions of digital violence on women usually lead to results that outweigh the negative effects of traditional types of violence. And come on top of them:

1- Psychological repercussions: Women who have been exposed to one or more forms of electronic violence usually suffer from depression, isolation, stigma and shame, and sometimes they may resort to suicide.

2- Social repercussions: Victims’ families usually prefer not to disclose the cybercrimes their girls are exposed to, for fear of what society and those around them will look at, and the growing doubts about the behavior of these girls. It deepens the feelings of anger within these societies, especially the conservative Arab ones.

3- Economic repercussions: Digital violence and defamation of the victim may lead to her losing her job and reducing her opportunity to join another job. The matter becomes even darker if the victim is a woman who supports the family. Her exposure to this type of crime and her inability to defend herself makes the family’s economic situation extremely difficult and affects directly to the children.

Fourth: Indicators of the prevalence of digital violence against women in the Arab world and locally

The United Nations Population Fund indicated in its latest census that the global prevalence rate of digital violence against women and girls is 85%, and this includes women who have personally experienced or witnessed it against other women.

1-Digital violence against women at the Arab level

The results of a survey conducted by UN-Women’s regional office in the Arab States (May 2020) showed that online violence was the most reported form of violence during the early months of the pandemic, as follows:

-49% of female Internet users in Arab countries report that they do not feel safe because of online harassment.

-16% of women in Arab countries report experiencing online violence at least once in their lives.

-60% of women who have ever experienced online violence experienced it during the Corona pandemic.

Iraqi women have the highest rates of exposure to digital violence at a rate of 70.4%, followed by Yemeni women at a rate of 62.3%, then Jordanian women at a rate of 60.4%, as shown in the following figure:

Figure 1: Percentage of women who have previously experienced online violence

-44% of women who have experienced online violence have experienced it more than once.

-The most common form of digital violence is receiving unsolicited images or symbols of sexual content at 43%, followed by harassing phone calls or inappropriate communications at 38%, receiving insulting messages at 35%, and direct sexual extortion at 22%.

-Facebook is the first platform in which women are exposed to violence at a rate of 43%, followed by Instagram at a rate of 16%, then WhatsApp at a rate of 11%, as the following figure shows:

Figure No. (2) Platforms in which women in Arab countries are exposed to violence on the Internet

12% of women who were subjected to violence on the Internet, reported their exposure to physical violence after informing the family of the incident.

35% of women who were subjected to violence on the Internet reported feeling sad and depressed, among them about 35% reported that they had lost confidence in the people around them, while 12% of women reported that they had suicidal thoughts.

Following digital violence, 36% of women subjected to online violence were asked to ignore the order, 23% were blamed, 21% were asked to delete their social media accounts and about 12% were subjected to physical violence by the family, as illustrated in the following figure:

Figure No. (3) The effects of digital violence on women’s lives

51% of women confirm that the attack on them via the Internet was “without a specific reason”, while about 23% of them believed that the reason was their outward appearance, and about 16% believed that the reason lies behind the advocacy of women’s rights.

2- Digital violence against women in Egypt

Egyptian society has witnessed great and successive technological developments in recent years, and digital transformation has become a priority for the Egyptian state apparatus, which allowed the majority of individuals to increasingly use the Internet and social networks, as they spend most of their time on it and share their private lives through it, which coincided with an increase in the rates of women’s exposure to violence.

According to data from the Ministry of Communications, the percentage of women who use the Internet to communicate with others through social networks such as “Facebook” and “Twitter” is about 91.2%, compared to 94.87% for males.

The latest report of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics revealed that the number of Internet users via mobile phone increased by 12.5% ​​during the first 10 months of 2022, as the number of Internet users during the first 10 months of 2022 reached about 69.5 million users, compared to 61.8 million users during the same period. The period from 2021.

These high percentages of internet and social media use indicate an increased likelihood of women in Egyptian society being exposed to digital violence. This was confirmed by an opinion poll conducted by Plan International, which was published by the Ministry of Social Solidarity on its website, as it indicated a high percentage of girls in Egypt who were subjected to electronic harassment, which is a form of digital violence.

Sixth: State efforts to confront digital violence against women

The issue of combating and eliminating violence against women in all its forms receives great attention from the state, as all state agencies work to preserve women’s rights and not harm them in any way, as stipulated in the 2014 constitution, which includes many articles that guarantee the empowerment of women and the protection of women. her rights. The most important efforts are as follows:

1.  The Egyptian legislator has been working on issuing a law on electronic harassment, and the legislator has described harassment as every exposure to others in a public or private place, or subjected to sexual or pornographic matters, suggestions, or insinuations, whether by sign, word, or deed by any means, including wired communications. or wireless or electronic, or any other technical means.

2-He set penalties for private and general deterrence, and he was included in the penalty of imprisonment between two and four years, and included in the fine between 100 thousand pounds to 200 thousand pounds, or one of these two penalties. The legislator has increased the penalty in the event of repeating the act to imprisonment for a period of not less than three years and not exceeding five years and a fine of not less than two hundred thousand pounds and not more than three hundred thousand pounds, or one of these two penalties.

3. The Egyptian legislator is currently working to amend Law No. 175 of 2018 regarding combating information technology crimes to make it in line with the technological development in the current era to address the crimes of personal extortion suffered by members of society, especially girls, in light of the social system in the Arab world, where girls are subject to many restrictions and controls Which makes them vulnerable to pressure, which makes it easier to blackmail and put pressure on them.

4-Therefore, the legislator thought of amending Article (25) that relates to the sanctity of private life and attacking it through filming, recording, or eavesdropping without the knowledge or consent of the person, or in cases other than those authorized by law, or publishing information, news, or pictures that violate the privacy of others without their consent, whether Was this information correct or incorrect?As well as Article (26), which relates to the use of modern information programs and technologies and the possibility of changing the reality that would affect the dignity, honor and person of a person, which would expose him to extortion and threats.

5 Launching the National Strategy to Combat Violence against Women 2015-2020 to meet the needs of society in confronting violence against women in all its forms and manifestations, through four main axes: prevention, protection, interventions and legal prosecution.

6- The Ministry of Interior worked to firmly address the practices of violence against women in general and digital violence in particular, in several ways:

7- Allocating special units in police stations to confront violence against women, as female police officers have been appointed to examine facts related to them.-

8- Increasing the number of patrols designated for rapid intervention in response to any emergency communications related to violence against women.

9- Organizing courses at the Police Academy in the field of combating violent crimes against women, with a review of the best international practices on coping, cooperation and support mechanisms to reduce these crimes.

10  – Dedicating an operations room to receive harassment complaints – including electronic harassment – through hotlines designated for this purpose.

11- The National Council for Women established units to combat violence against girls in Egyptian universities in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and the United Nations Population Fund with the aim of supporting the basic concepts of equality and equal opportunities to achieve empowerment and psychological and social support for women, as 23 units have already been established and supported at the level of public universities and 3 units in private universities .

12-The establishment of the Egyptian Women’s Observatory with the aim of following up the implementation of the goals related to the status of women in the period from 2015 to 2030 through:-Preparing a set of periodic reports on the status of Egyptian women and the gender gap.

13- Inventory and presentation of laws related to women.

14- Measuring the progress achieved in all areas related to the empowerment and protection of women by following up the values ​​of the indicators of the follow-up to the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030 and the indicators of sustainable development related to women.

15- Launching a number of campaigns through which violence can be addressed, especially digital, most notably.

16-Campaign “Don’t be silent” on highways, and design and broadcast audio and video advertisements to encourage reporting of cases of harassment.

17- “Speak…Protect yourself and others” campaign to raise awareness of electronic dangers and ways to report digital violence.

18- Launching the “Railway Safety” campaign at railway stations to raise awareness of forms of violence against women.

The media played a prominent role in this regard, as it established platforms for social communication with the aim of eradicating digital illiteracy and spreading awareness of the seriousness of electronic crimes and digital violence that women may be exposed to, and how to protect digital devices from hacking and theft of personal information.

Seventh: Proposals to confront digital violence against women

The Egyptian state has made strenuous efforts, especially under the current political leadership, to empower women and protect them from any violence they may be exposed to. The directives of the political leadership motivated all state agencies to accelerate the pace in this regard. However, there are proposals that can contribute to preserving women against digital violence:

1- Addressing the people’s representatives to issue laws to confront technological development and the danger it poses in blackmailing and practicing violence against women, with demands that domestic and digital violence be classified as a crime against honor and should be recorded in the criminal record in case of recurrence.

2- Religious institutions, Al-Azhar and the Church, correct misconceptions about the nature of women and how to deal with them in a manner that preserves their dignity without harming them, and stresses the prevention of women’s exposure to violence in all its forms and forms, in accordance with the purposes of religion and custom in society.

3- The need for the media to prepare educational programmes, whether for women to know their rights and how to obtain them, or for young men and men to learn how to properly deal with women without harming them or exposing them to psychological and material harm. In addition to the important role of awareness about the laws related to the phenomenon of electronic violence so that some do not believe that when practicing this type of violence, he will be far from the penalty of law and accountability.

4- Tightening control over media and dramatic content, and removing any manifestations that promote violence in all its forms and manifestations, while highlighting the positive aspect of human relations.

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