The Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights (ECWR) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) registered at the Ministry of Social Solidarity under registration number 780 in 2004. ECWR is dedicated to supporting women in their struggle for attaining their full legal rights and establishing gender equality in the society. It works to address all forms of discrimination against women and urges legislative authorities to reform all legislations that contradict international conventions related to women’s rights, most notably the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
ECWR also holds consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is the highest status granted by the United Nations to non-governmental organizations.
ECWR’s board of directors, chaired by Mrs. Nehad Aboul Komsan, meet regularly to formulate policies and guide the decisions of the center concerning programs and strategies. The centers’ staff is composed of 11 employees, which includes trainers, lawyers, social workers, accountants and administrators, and the international relations team.
Mission:
ECWR’s main efforts are to educate women on their legal, political and economic rights and to emphasize the importance of their participation in the public and political life, whether as a voter or a candidate. Our scope of work constitutes encouraging women to exercise their right to vote and building the capacity of female candidates to stand for election, both parliamentary and local. In addition, ECWR provides legal awareness for women by simplifying legal concepts and offering legal counseling services free of charge, as well as filing lawsuits on their behalf to claim and defend their rights, and ensure the implementation of the court’s decisions. Furthermore, ECWR is dedicated to empowering women economically through enhancing their skills in business and small to mid-size enterprises.
Vision:
- A gender-equal society where women can have control over their lives, take independent choices with the opportunities available for them, actively participate in politics and have the ability to reach justice.
- A strong women’s movement capable of empowering women to raise their voices and claim their rights
- A democratic society that incorporates the woman’s role in all fields of life and rejects all forms of discrimination against women, consolidating the values of citizenship.
Awards:
The center has a distinguished approach to its work, resulting in it being rewarded for the best idea of a booklet entitled ‘Rape…the Safe Crime’ in the Middle East and North Africa in the global competition for ending violence against women for ‘V-Day’ in 2001, and was selected as one of the top ten development organizations in the world in 2002 by the World Bank. In 2008, it won the Adel Abou Zahra Award for its efforts and achievements in empowering Egyptian women, in addition to forming relationships with a variety of organizations including more than 800 NGOs locally, fifty regional and international organizations, activists from sixteen Arab countries and ten organizations from African countries. In 2011, ECWR established an alliance titled “Civic Education and Women’s Participation”, which includes 445 associations from all governorates of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
In 2015, in recognition of the efforts of the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights to defend women’s rights, the center’s project “Safe Street for All: Campaign Against Sexual Harassment in Egypt” was selected as one of the most successful projects in advocacy and political dialogue aimed at supporting the role of women in society. ECWR has also been placed among the most influential organizations of the southern Mediterranean countries in the field of advocacy and defense for women.
ECWR also serves as a communication channel between civil society and government entities, which is evident in most of its activities in which it collaborates with a number of different government bodies such as the Ministry of Local Development, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior and the National Council for Women.
