Egypt
Egypt, famous for the Giza pyramids and Nile Valley, is in the northeast corner of Africa and is the most populous country in the Arab world.
Stories in Egypt
Amel is a proud Egyptian. She loves drawing the pyramids and the Sphinx. And she loves fighting for Egyptian girls’ rights.
Especially when it comes to female genital mutilation (FGM).
Egypt has the third-highest rate of FGM, behind only Guinea and Somalia. FGM is a traditional practice that is extremely dangerous for the girls who are forced to undergo it.
One of Amel’s friends bled to death after she was cut. It was after that tragedy that Amel convinced her parents to let her decide whether or not this would happen to her body. And she decided it would not.
After attending Plan awareness sessions, Amel came to fully understand how harmful FGM is. She’s now determined to make sure other girls are safe from it, too.
“I want to eradicate FGM from my village because it has many harmful effects,” Amel says. “It hurts a lot of the girls.”
With Plan, Amel has become a girls’ rights advocate in her community. She talks to girls and families about the negative impacts of FGM and encourages them to attend the awareness sessions.
Amel is optimistic that it will end — in fact, she can barely contain her excitement when she talks about it. She’s confident that change is happening, and she’s ready to keep up the fight.
Become an Advocate
Egypt has the third-highest rate of FGM, behind only Guinea and Somalia. FGM is a traditional practice that is extremely dangerous for the girls who are forced to undergo it.
One of Amel’s friends bled to death after she was cut. It was after that tragedy that Amel convinced her parents to let her decide whether or not this would happen to her body. And she decided it would not.
After attending Plan awareness sessions, Amel came to fully understand how harmful FGM is. She’s now determined to make sure other girls are safe from it, too.
“I want to eradicate FGM from my village because it has many harmful effects,” Amel says. “It hurts a lot of the girls.”
With Plan, Amel has become a girls’ rights advocate in her community. She talks to girls and families about the negative impacts of FGM and encourages them to attend the awareness sessions.
Amel is optimistic that it will end — in fact, she can barely contain her excitement when she talks about it. She’s confident that change is happening, and she’s ready to keep up the fight.
Hassan is part of a new generation of men in Egypt — one that sees harassment as unacceptable. But he didn’t always feel this way.
“I used to think of girls as inferior and that I was better than them,” Hassan admits.
What changed? Hassan participated in Plan’s Safer Cities program, where he learned about gender equality and the dangers facing girls in Cairo. Now Hassan thinks it’s deeply unfair that girls are treated differently than boys.
“I realize that girls are equal,” Hassan says. “I have the right to play sports and leave the house in the evenings, and girls should too.”
Now when Hassan sees harassment on the streets (which is a huge problem in Egypt, affecting 99% of women), he can’t stand it. And he does something about it.
Hassan’s mother saw it in action. “I saw my son standing up for a girl who was being harassed,” she said. “He asked the boy to stop what he was doing. I was so proud.”
Learn more about Safer Cities
What changed? Hassan participated in Plan’s Safer Cities program, where he learned about gender equality and the dangers facing girls in Cairo. Now Hassan thinks it’s deeply unfair that girls are treated differently than boys.
“I realize that girls are equal,” Hassan says. “I have the right to play sports and leave the house in the evenings, and girls should too.”
Now when Hassan sees harassment on the streets (which is a huge problem in Egypt, affecting 99% of women), he can’t stand it. And he does something about it.
Hassan’s mother saw it in action. “I saw my son standing up for a girl who was being harassed,” she said. “He asked the boy to stop what he was doing. I was so proud.”
Amany just did something that seemed impossible a few years ago: She graduated from school. That seemed impossible because Amany was promised in marriage when she was just 15 years old.
“If it wasn’t for Plan International, I would have children now, and huge responsibilities I can’t handle,” says Amany.
When Plan first started working in Amany’s community, she was in middle school and thought marriage was the next best step for herself. Most girls in her community (and 17% of girls in all of Egypt) drop out of school to get married before they’re 18 years old.
Luckily, Amany started attending Plan workshops and learned about her rights. She realized an early marriage would be a mistake, and even more importantly, that she should be able to choose how to live her life.
Amany managed to convince her parents to call off the marriage. And she stayed in school — the place she loved to be.
“I was one of the smartest girls in my class,” says Amany. “I took part in a lot of different activities and my teachers depended on me.”
Amany is now planning to go to college. She has her mother’s support, but not her father’s and brother’s yet. That hasn’t changed her mind, though. Because she knows it’s her life and her decision.
Help girls like Amany stay in school
When Plan first started working in Amany’s community, she was in middle school and thought marriage was the next best step for herself. Most girls in her community (and 17% of girls in all of Egypt) drop out of school to get married before they’re 18 years old.
Luckily, Amany started attending Plan workshops and learned about her rights. She realized an early marriage would be a mistake, and even more importantly, that she should be able to choose how to live her life.
Amany managed to convince her parents to call off the marriage. And she stayed in school — the place she loved to be.
“I was one of the smartest girls in my class,” says Amany. “I took part in a lot of different activities and my teachers depended on me.”
Amany is now planning to go to college. She has her mother’s support, but not her father’s and brother’s yet. That hasn’t changed her mind, though. Because she knows it’s her life and her decision.
Plan International has been working to improve children’s lives in Egypt since 1981.
Welcome, I’m Sohaila, and this is my home. Let’s go inside. I am 15 years old. I am from Egypt. I have been a sponsored child for 15 years. This is my father. This is Ahmed, my brother, and this is my mother. These are my sisters Jana and Shourok. This is my bedroom. This is our kitchen. When I wake up in the morning, I make my bed and brush my teeth. After that, I get dressed in my uniform and go to school. I’m in grade 10 at a public secondary school. I like my school very much. My favorite subjects are Biology and Physics. This is my mother. She works as a community volunteer. She is now giving a session on child protection. She is absolutely very proud of what she is doing. The child needs to have personal space (square) around him/her. The challenges and obstacles I face in my society are the old ideas and beliefs that girls are not allowed to have access to education and have to marry early. Plan International is helping my society to challenge these ideas; any girls should have access to education, should not marry early and should have a role in her society. This is Aflatoun group (children’s group). We learn about our rights and responsibilities. The first program I participated in was the Aflatoun program when I was 8 years old. I learned about my rights and responsibilities. This is while we are writing letters to our sponsors, I often help other children in writing letters. Today, Plan International is hosting a sports day for all kids and I’m happy that I’m part of it. My dream is to become a pediatrician because there are many kids who cannot afford to see doctors when they need to. Plan International is helping me achieve my dreams. They are helping me gain confidence in myself and I feel empowered to express my ideas and how I feel. Before participating in Plan International programs, I was a very shy and introverted person. I am happy to be a sponsored child with Plan International. Good bye!
Plan stats Egypt
Offices & operations
Plan International Egypt’s country office is in Cairo, with programs in Alexandria, Behera, Damietta, Kalyoubya, Giza, Assiut, Sohag and Qena.
Technical areas
Education, economic empowerment, health, youth engagement
Number of sponsored children
As of June 2020, people like you sponsor 24,208 children in Egypt through Plan International.
Our projects in Egypt
When you sponsor a child through through Plan, you form an incredible friendship.
But that’s just the beginning. With Plan, you also have the unique opportunity to:
Send her birthday gifts and cards.
Give her special holiday presents called Little Treasures.
Subscribe her to Plan’s educational kids’ magazine, Sunny Days.
— Visit her (when travel restrictions are lifted), with individual travel assistance from us.
Each gift offering is safely hand-delivered by us, and given to your child with personalized cards from you. It’s likely that the child you sponsor will have never seen anything like these gifts, and they’re available year-round to make the bond between you and your sponsored child even stronger.
Meet a child to sponsor