The role of government, civil society organisation and the private sector in supporting rural women, raising awareness, and increasing income

Introduction

The United Nations General Assembly celebrates the International Day of Rural Women on October 15th every year, as rural women are a key element in achieving the economic, environmental and social changes necessary to achieve sustainable development.

On this International Day of Rural Women, we must recognise the significant role of rural women, and we must also demand equal opportunities for all in rural areas.

Achieving gender equate and empowering women is not only necessary, but it is also a crucial element in combating poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.

The plans, programs and initiatives launched by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the government have confirmed that rural women empowerment programs are the most important means of confronting the challenges of population growth and reducing birth rates, in addition to their role in reducing early marriage and raising the standard of living and intellectual status of Egyptian women and their ability to withstand the burdens of the current stage. These initiatives also aimed to intensify the provision of financial and technical facilities that encourage rural women, especially those who are breadwinners, to establish a small project, in a way that ensures the provision of income-generating activities that achieve an economic return for them and their families, and to identify how to obtain training services in project management, insurance, marketing and distribution to ensure greater opportunities for its success. In order not to prolong your time, allow me to talk briefly and in specific points about the role of the government, civil institutions, and the private sector in supporting and empowering women in rural Egypt.

The role of the government in empowering rural women

The government has set up many projects to develop and support rural women. Women and girls benefit from these projects to improve their social and economic conditions through financial support, training, and guidance through training in productive activities and skills that generate income that helps raise the economic level of women in particular and the family in general. The initiative helps provide small economic projects with economic returns in various production fields that are compatible with the conditions of rural communities until expansion in urban slums.

Among these projects and initiatives is the “Decent Life” initiative, which established a diverse sector called “Development Projects” for the target groups to empower them economically and provide them with sustainable job opportunities, including, for example, centers for collecting and manufacturing milk, establishing workshops to teach girls the crafts of weaving and sewing, manual workshops to manufacture carpets and handmade carpets , centers for manufacturing palm products, workshops to teach wood products industries, and many different and multiple development projects that are chosen based on the identity of the villages and the professional culture of their people and their craft skills. For example, in villages whose people are famous for fishing, the Decent Life initiative works to set up workshops to teach and manufacture fishing boats, and so on according to the nature of the place and the culture of the people. In this context, we also refer to the projects of breadwinners, widows, and divorcees.

which aim to achieve financial independence for Egyptian women, which has become the goal of all concerned agencies to ensure real economic freedom for women in general, and simple rural women in particular, through a small project that they depend on

There is also the “Aware” initiative launched by the National Council for Women, which looks to find, and support distinguished rural women cadres, as well as owners of initiatives that contribute to developing rural resources and supporting rural families. The initiative targets rural women and girls in general, women who own small holdings, agricultural workers, agricultural secondary school graduates, female leadership figures, and rural businesswomen.

Here we point out the existence of dozens of projects and initiatives that there is no room to talk about in this short space of time. All of them reveal beyond a doubt that countries are keen to raise the standard of living and services provided to rural women in the governorates.

The government can work or continue to work in this regard through some of the proposed axes and ideas:

• Develop policies and programs that directly target rural women, such as education and vocational training programs, small business support programs, and health awareness programs.

• Provide funding by distributing budgets to support projects targeting rural women and providing soft loans to set up small projects.

• Build the necessary infrastructure to eases the lives of rural women, such as roads, potable water, and electricity.

• Enact legislation and laws that protect the rights of rural women and ensure their equality with men in all areas.

• The role of civil society organisations in empowering rural women

The role of the private sector in supporting rural women

• ​Equality between men and women in wages in agricultural communities to ensure justice between women and men

• ​Supporting rural women to access the necessary financing for small projects, especially smart agriculture

• ​Activating corporate social responsibility through which the private sector can contribute to empowering rural women

• ​Focusing on types of projects financed by the private sector to support rural women, such as sustainable agriculture projects and developing handicraft products

• ​Increasing rates of cooperation and coordination between the government, civil institutions, and the private sector in supporting rural women, such as increasing investment in education and training, providing the necessary financing for small projects and strengthening partnerships between various sectors

• ​Supporting rural girls to learn the skills of using technology for learning and contributing to the development of rural communities

• Helping to prepare poor girls for marriage

• Providing care and help to divorcees, widows, and female breadwinners

• Coordinating with government agencies and civil institutions to help rural women and girls enter the labor market

• Training rural women in some crafts

• Providing a means of transportation to transport workers to and from workplaces

• Contributing to the rehabilitation of rural women with special needs and their care

• Training rural women on the methods and techniques of marketing handicrafts, handicrafts and agricultural products

• Contributing to providing financial and technical help to develop rural women’s projects

• Holding exhibitions to market rural women’s products

The role of civil society institutions

• Increasing programs and initiatives implemented by civil society institutions to support rural women, such as economic empowerment programs, literacy programs and women’s rights awareness programs

• Increasing partnerships between civil society institutions, the government, and the private sector in implementing these programs

• Raising rural women’s awareness of the importance of education

• Eradicating rural women’s illiteracy

• Increasing women’s awareness of the importance of rural pioneers

• Raising rural women’s awareness of the effects of children dropping out of school

• Helping women educate themselves

• Raising women’s awareness of the importance of reading and reading

• Providing care and help to women breadwinners

• Helping rural women on how to care for and raise children

• Providing care and help to divorcees and widows

• Improving rural women’s sense of self

• Offering family guidance and counselling

• Helping poor girls prepare for marriage

• Increasing rural women’s abilities to take part in decision-making

• Preparing society to help rural women enter the labor market

• Raising awareness among rural women about the effects of smoking and drugs

• Rehabilitating and caring for rural women with special needs

• Employing girls in work and providing loans to rural women

• Training in implementing and managing small projects

• Helping to find income-generating projects

• Training rural women in some crafts

• Supporting women in obtaining an electoral card

• Increasing rural women’s awareness of the importance of voting in elections

• Encouraging rural women to join volunteer work

• Encouraging public opinion to help rural women take part politically

Thank you and Best Regards.

Dr. Mohamed Saleh M.D. Ph.D.

President of RC Rhein Nile