ADEW6

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ADEW as Advocates

Putting Woman on the Public Agenda

ADEW recognizes that long-term and lasting change in the field of development requires an effort on both the community level and on the national level. As such, ADEW has become a strong public advocate for low-income women, helping to bring the issue to the attention of the media and the country.

Advocacy in Action

*ADEW is the first NGO in Egypt to have raised public awareness on the lack of legal documentation among women and of the law that forbids Egyptian women married to foreigners from passing on their nationality to their children. As part of the awareness campaign, ADEW produced two films with interviews from women on the difficulties they faced due to lack of ID’s or because their children were treated as second-class citizens.

*A conference on nationality law and the legal and constitutional rights of Egyptian women was held in April 2001 under the auspices of Her Excellency Mrs. Mubarak, wife of the President of Egypt. The nationality law and the issuing of official papers were the top items on the agenda. Live testimonies were presented during the conference, and women came from all over Egypt to tell their stories.

*ADEW has produced and disseminated fliers in Arabic which call for a more gender-sensitive approach to development initiatives in low-income communities.

*ADEW has printed posters on issues such as the importance of credit, the importance of identity cards, the unjust nature of current nationality laws and the special needs of female-headed households.

*Greeting cards containing similar themes are routinely sent to journalists, members of parliament, decision makers, and donor agencies to remind them of the salience of these issues.

*ADEW has actively lobbied the media about covering women’s issues. As a direct result, Egypt’s top newspapers (el-Ahram, el-Akhbar and el-Gomhoria) have published stories on the tenuous legal position of female heads of households.

*ADEW produces a newsletter, Women’s Stories, to bring the tales of life from squatter communities to people’s minds and imaginations. The newsletter is published in Arabic and is a way to give voice to an otherwise voiceless population.

*ADEW holds public seminars once a month to invite policy makers to discuss issues of public concern. After attending one such seminar on women’s lack of official IDs and other papers, the Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Interior vowed to facilitate the process for women.

The April 2001 ConferenceThe ADEW-sponsored conference on nationality laws and the constitutional rights of Egyptian women was a resounding success. It is an excellent example of how advocacy can result in positive change.
   *The attendance of high ranking officials like the First Lady of Egypt brought national attention to previously ignored issuesv Cooperation and communication between various NGOs increased, as over 100 NGOs helped organize the conference, and 275 NGOs participated in total.
    *A Member of Parliament who attended the conference then submitted a draft law to the People’s Assembly to alter the terms of the Nationality Law.
    *It was the first time that a “taboo” subject was covered by the national media as a result of NGO activism.