Safe Egypt, a Cairo-based organisation specialising in psychosocial services, has launched two educational books as part of a series aimed at answering children's questions about bodies and sexuality specifically. These books, ‘I Was Born With a Significant Body’ for ages one to four and ‘Where Do Babies Come From?’ for ages four to nine, are co-authored by counsellor Sara Aziz, the founder of Safe Egypt, and psychosexual therapist Mariam Aziz.

Founded in 2013, Safe Egypt has been promoting open and honest conversations about sexual education, and plans to release two more books for pre-teens and teenagers. The organisation also provides programmes tailored to diverse age groups, delivering talks and workshops on topics like gender equality, sexual abuse awareness and coping mechanisms.

As sexual education remains in large part a taboo subject in the country, Safe Egypt sees an incentive to raise awareness, especially amongst the more vulnerable demographics affected by the reticence surrounding it.

The books are written in colloquial Arabic in an effort to ensure a wider outreach, as well as to promote the discussion of important rudimentary information that children should be equipped with.

Central to their work with children is their dedication to imparting knowledge on preventing sexual abuse. Through their workshops and social media activity, they continue to spotlight the risks associated with remaining silent when it’s crucial for the safety of children.

Copies for both books are currently available on the Safe website:

https://safekidseg.org/products