UN Report Puts Egypt on Top For Supporting Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the Coronavirus pandemic, Egypt took steps to mind the gender gap, implementing a number of care and educational programmes to protect and advance the case of Egyptian women. And these efforts haven't gone unnoticed by the United Nations. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recently released their COVID-19 Global Gender Response report, which puts Egypt at the top of several criteria among North African and Western Asian countries. The report shows that Egypt put 21 gender-sensitive measures out of a total of 38 initiatives, with three targeting unpaid work, seven helping women's economic security, and 11 diminishing violence against women.

Some of these measures include adding 60,000 families to the Takaful and Karama cash programmes, granting pregnant women and mothers exceptional leave and job protection, financing small businesses for women, launching educational programmes to encourage women to enter the job market, and - in coordination with the NCW - implementing a rapid response programme for women experiencing domestic violence during quarantine.

Maya Morsi, the president of the National Council for Women, took to the council’s Facebook page to express her pride at the positive role the state was able to play in supporting women during this trying time, and that these recent protection and endorsement measures are evidence of the growing appreciation of women in Egyptian society.