Transcript From barriers to assets - American University in Cairo

From barriers to
assets
Plan Egypt’s
experiences in
promoting girls’ and
women’s
empowerment
In a context of
barriers… a story of an
Egyptian girl
They born in
families with
lack of
knowledge
about early
childhood
practices
They go
to school
but drop
out very
soon
Exposed
to FGM
Early
married
Stay at home,
no
opportunities,
no aspirations,
her daughters
will reproduce
the same cycle
BARRIERS
Cultural norms, patriarchal attitudes, stereotypical behaviors:
preference of boys over girls
Burden of domestic work
Gender based violence
Early marriage, FGM, low awareness of reproductive health
Schools’ condition, low quality of teaching, overcrowded, no
proper toilets, high rate of illiterates inside the school
How to change this
reality? How to
overcome these
barriers?
ASSETS
Personal
Assets
Life skills,
informal education
opportunities
and back
formal education
Fiancial
Assets
saving groups
Business skills, vocational
skills
Social
Assets
Social support, men and boys,
opportunities to participate
Child protection mechanisms
CREATING ASSETS AND REDUCING BARRIERS
The story of Intisar
Set up
her own
business
Activist in
her
community
REFLECT
(literacy)
Daughter
free of
HTP
Community
members
participate in
international
events
VSLA
(saving)
Vocation
al
training
Went back
to school
Arab
Women
Speak Out
HTP
awarene
ss
Young
women and
young men
participate in
premarital
Daughters &
sons
attends New
Horizons
Key Success Factors
•Holistic approach: one intervention is not
enough to create assets, it has to be
comprehensive and integrated. Tackle the
different factors that take girls out of school:
money, space, time, traditional
teaching methods, violence
•Child Centred Community Development: the reality
of children cannot be changed without tackling
gender inequality. Long term commitment
Key Success Factors
•Start from the early beginning through Early
Childhood programs: gender equality in the family
and work on importance of education for girls
Including local community development
associations as key actors and promoters of
the
program (strengthening their capacities), as
well as
schools and child protection committees
Main Challenges faced by the
program
Cultural norms, patriarchal attitudes,
involvement of men and boys in
the program very challenging. It’s not
just about providing opportunities for
education, but convincing parents and
husbands
girls’ and women’s
issues are not national priorities,
Changing the mentality of communities
and stakeholders: working on education
is not just quantity, not just about the
school building. It’s a whole package:
the cycle of education, livelihoods…
Lessons Learned
Sensitive issues such as FGM or
early marriage cannot be stand
alone programs, they need to be
integrate with other interventions
that are easily accepted from the
community.
Involving men and boys: helps a lot
in achieving results, it needs to be
introduce at the beginning of the
program, as part of the process of
mobilizing communities
Lessons Learned
Starting early: ECCD,
involvement of men and boys:
introduced at the
beginning of the program, as
part of the process of
mobilizing communities
Partnership and networking with
government ,unversties , NGO and
INGOs
“ I will not let my
daughter go through my
sufferings and get
married at early age”
Ayda 32 years old