United Nations Population Fund
16 July 2020
News
Mayada Reda looks lovingly at her newborn son, Mohamed.
For pregnant COVID-19 patients in Egypt, a safe place to deliver
CAIRO, Egypt – As soon as she started her ninth month of pregnancy, Mayada Reda started coughing and feeling feverish. Then she lost her sense of taste and smell. “I texted my doctor and I explained to her how I was... Read more
25 June 2020
News
Young people wearing protective gear pose in front of donated supplies for hygiene kits.
Youth mobilize to support Egypt’s front-line health workers
CAIRO, Egypt – “Every morning we meet with the intention of packing as many kits as we can, to be delivered to the health workers who are working hard to protect us,” 22-year-old Ammar told UNFPA. Ammar is a volunteer... Read more
20 December 2019
News
A study of Yazidi survivors found that some were negatively affected by their experiences with journalists, expert Sherizaan Minwalla said. © UNFPA/Khetam Malkawi
How to do no harm: Resources to help journalists avoid re-traumatizing survivors of sexual violence
UNITED NATIONS, New York/AMMAN, Jordan – Sexual and gender-based violence terrorizes women and girls around the world, affecting as many as one in three women. Reporters play an essential role in bringing these cases to... Read more
2 October 2019
News
Community leaders in Assiut Governorate speak about female genital mutilation. © UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme to Eliminate FGM
When health workers harm: the medicalization of female genital mutilation in Egypt
CAIRO, Egypt – Female genital mutilation has been outlawed in Egypt for more than a decade, but it remains widespread. Yet rather than helping to eliminate the practice, public campaigns highlighting its dangers may... Read more
30 October 2017
News
Amany Abdel-Aal, a Wen-Do instructor from the organization Etijah, teaches women how defend themselves and stand up for their rights. © UNFPA/Rebecca Zerzan
“Your voice is your weapon”: Taking on sexual harassment in Egypt
CAIRO, Egypt – “Your fear is controlling you,” instructor Amany Abdel-Aal told a roomful of women at a Wen-Do self-defence class, held in a cheerfully painted youth centre on the outskirts of Cairo. The students – most... Read more
17 March 2017
News
Shaimaa Ahmed Ali teaches members of her community about the harms of female genital mutilation (FGM). © UNFPA Egypt/Sima Diab
Efforts to end FGM must be intensified, leaders urge
UNITED NATIONS, New York/ASSIUT, Egypt – “I will soon be the happy mother of a baby girl,” Shaimaa Ahmed Ali told UNFPA in Egypt last summer. “I will definitely not have her circumcised. My husband and I agree on that.... Read more
18 July 2016
News
More than nine in 10 adult women in Egypt have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). In rural Upper Egypt, Hoda Hamed is trying to end the practice. © UNFPA Egypt/Sima Diab
Local Egyptian heroine aims to end “huge” suffering caused by FGM
ASSIUT, Egypt – In her daily life, Hoda Hamed, is a quiet 37-year-old kindergarten teacher. But when she is off the clock, she is a force of nature. Ms. Hamed is an outspoken advocate for women and girls, working... Read more
17 June 2015
News
Huda (right) sits at a UNFPA-supported safe space in Alexandria, Egypt. She fled the violence in Syria three years ago and struggled to support herself. Now, she is working on behalf of other women refugees. Photo courtesy of Huda.
In Egypt, brave Syrian refugee promotes opportunities for women
CAIRO, Egypt – “Shake me from my sleep, whisper in my ear, tell me it was just a bad dream,” said Huda,* 22, explaining how it felt to become a refugee three years ago. Back home in Damascus, Syria, Huda had been a... Read more
13 August 2014
News
Syrian crisis takes heaviest toll on region’s women and girls
UNITED NATIONS, New York - The Syrian crisis continues to send shockwaves through the region, taking the heaviest toll on women and girls. Some 10.8 million people are affected by the emergency in Syria, including 432,... Read more
4 April 2014
News
Women, Girls Must Top Development Agenda
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Heads of State, dignitaries and other leaders participated today in a high-level debate at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, addressing the central role of human rights, dignity,... Read more

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