Cairo – July 11, 2021
With the forthcoming shuffling of governors, the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights calls for an increase in the number of women in the position of governor.
The first woman was appointed to the position of governor in 2017, Ms. Nadia Ahmed Abdou, for the governorate of Beheira, in order to test and circulate the experience. However, the following shuffle in 2018 included only one woman. Dr. Manal Awad was appointed as governor of Damietta, who in turn provided a distinguished experience which had helped transform Damietta Governorate, a qualitative leap in many aspects of life, allowing Damietta to return to the forefront of the furniture industry in Egypt, after this industry almost ended with an increase in imports as well as the decline in the quality of the local products.
The focus was on solving the problems of industry and restoring the governorate’s leadership in the furniture industry, in addition to several other industries, as well as many national projects to guarantee the right to a decent life for all the citizens of the governorate. This came to fruition in declaring Damietta governorate free of slums, building safe housing and relocation of residents who used to live in unsafe informal settlements.
Damietta has also joined the membership of the International Network of UNESCO Learning Cities, major projects in the field of health, culture and the provision of multiple facilities for furniture exhibitions, for which the governorate is famous and has become a source of many job opportunities, whether at the level of industry or trade. Which is a great success for the experience of the governor, and opens the door for more appointments to contribute to the advancement of other governorates.
Nehad Abolkomsan, Chairwoman of ECWR, indicated that the Egyptian state is taking important steps towards greater political empowerment of women and their access to all decision-making positions, as 5 women were appointed to the position of deputy governors in 2018, and 7 women were appointed to the position of deputy governors in 2019. Undoubtedly, these women have the experience and skills that qualify them to work in the position of governor in good faith.
Therefore, we hope that these women will be appointed in the upcoming governor shuffle, especially since the transparency reports issued by the World Bank and the World Economic Forum confirm that the presence of women in decision-making positions greatly contributes to reducing corruption and rational management of resources.
Abolkomsan stressed the need to review international statistics and reports for Egypt’s position among the countries of the world, as Egypt ranked 134th out of 153 countries, and 140th in the participation and economic opportunities index. Furthermore, the percentage of women among legislators, senior officials and managers was only 7.1%, according to the Global Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum 2020.
