Egypt celebrates International Day of the Girl at Citadel

Against the backdrop of the silhouetted Cairo skyline and the iconic Citadel lit in green, yellow and pink, hundreds gathered to celebrate the first ever International Day of the Girl on Thursday.

The Pyramids were also lit in pink during the celebration.

Plan International (PI), an international NGO working on the promotion of children's rights, in coordination with UN Habitat for Safe Cities, set up the initiative.

Seventy other countries around the world took part in the initiative by lighting up some major landmarks in celebration of the day.

“Because I am a girl,” a two minute video of diverse Egyptian girls stating in one sentence how they feel because they are a girl or what they aspire for as a girl, launched the event. Harassment, the right to education, tradition, freedom, and self-identity were some of the underlying themes tackled in the short video. 

A large number of the event’s participants were women and girls from around Egypt where PI has been holding its projects, which include, Minya, Assiut, Alexandria, Beheira, Giza, and Qalioubeya.

Hosneya Khalifa, 42, from Dar El-Salaam in Cairo, stated how it was her first time out with her family in at least six years. “This is nice for a change, it is nice to go out, listen to music, spend time with my children,” Khalifa said.

“I feel it is important for me to attend this especially for my 17-year-old daughter. I feel afraid for her and I feel that unless she is by my side I will never feel safe for her in this city,” she lamented.

Khalifa’s youngest daughter was standing at the face-painting section along with dozens of kids swarming around to animate their faces. Colourful clowns on stilts were also a major attraction for the children.

A number of bands, including a traditional Zar performance, led by a magnetic lead chanter, performed at the event.

Other performances included an all girls’ oud performance from students of the House of Oud taught by famous oudist, Iraqi-born Nassir Shamma, the contemporary Egyptian band Ana Masri and Egyptian rap band FBI.

Caitlin O’Dowd, one of the main organisers of the event, stated that bringing in a band like Zar which performs ritual songs traditionally for healing and exorcism, was symbolic.

“The fact that women lead the chants and men are additional participants is a form of female empowerment,” O’Dowd stressed.

Mohamed Abou Sama, from UN Habitat for Safe Cities, stressed the need to create safe cities where girls and women can live safely.

“By creating safe cities for girls it will serve society at large and ensure a sense of security for all,” he said.

Nihal Saad Zaghloul, a leading anti-sexual harassment campaigner and one of the founders of Emsek Motaharesh, or ‘Catch a Harasser’ campaign, stressed how harassment had become a major epidemic. She explained that a public event, a “safe space” for all of Egypt’s women, was a good example which should set a standard for the rest of society.

“It is important for women to put themselves out there and to show their talents,” Zaghloul stated as she referred to a play that attempted to tackle the issue of early marriage.

Virginia Saiz, Resource Mobilisation and Communications Manager at PI, told Ahram Online that Thursday’s event was merely the start of what she hoped would become a larger social movement for girls' rights, primarily to education.  

“The fact that the Pyramids were lit in pink spreads a strong message, it shows that Egypt is committed to girls' rights,” she stressed.

While faced with several logistical problems before the event, Saiz stated that it had all paid off in the end.

“We are aiming to highlight that girls matter and that if we invest in girls Egypt will become a better place,” she stated.

Source: ahramonline