Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Sweeping away gender barriers
Published in Daily News Egypt on 01 - 06 - 2008

CAIRO: Egypt produces 40,000 tons of municipal waste each day with an estimated total of 15 million tons a year, according to the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). Much of this is left in the streets or burned, creating unsanitary environments and poor health conditions in communities.
A Canadian environmental development project has been recognized for cleaning the streets of Minya and Ismailia and breaking down gender barriers in the process.
The Community Environmental Action Project (CENACT) has worked with 36 Community Development Associations (CDAs) in Lower and Upper Egypt to set up small waste management businesses.
With the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funding the project, each CDA was given money to purchase a tractor and trailer.
"Motivators then went door to door convincing their neighbors to pay LE 2-3 a month to have their garbage collected and properly disposed of.
"I'm completely satisfied with the performance of the project, it's had a great impact on the targeted communities, said Islam Abdel-Meguid, deputy of the NGO unit of the EEAA which has worked in collaboration with CENACT.
Having initially been met with skepticism from people in the communities, 70 percent of the CDAs are now making a net profit and the number of subscribers continues to grow.
However, the real success story is not of cleaner streets, but of improvements in the lives of those who have helped clean them.
CENACT was given the award for Gender Equality Achievement by the Center for Intercultural Learning at a ceremony in Vancouver, Canada on May 21 in recognition of their success in improving the status of women in Minya and Ismailia.
CIDA regularly stresses the importance of including women in order for development projects to be successful.
"The chances of a project being viable over the short term and sustainable over the long term are greater if women are involved, says CENACT Field Director Mary Ellen MacCallum.
Because it is considered inappropriate for men to knock on doors and enter homes where women are alone, the CENACT staff realized that women could play a vital role as motivators.
This women-to-women interaction was very effective at recruiting new subscribers says Doaa Hussein, social development and gender specialist at CENACT.
"Women in the households play an active role in the decision-making process. They are influencing and convincing their husbands to pay for the service.
The female motivators eventually took on wider roles and responsibilities in the CDAs. Many became leaders while others began riding in the trucks with the male drivers and laborers to ensure the quality of their work.
At first the CDAs only gave paid positions to men and the female motivators were brought on as volunteers.
"They justified it by saying that they were not generating profit and couldn't pay women, says Hussein.
However, this policy changed once the financial incentives of hiring women became clear.
"Now they realize that it is because of the active role of women that they are making a profit, otherwise they would not have earned a penny, Hussein explains.
However, acceptance of women working in waste management did not come easily.
"Others in the community would ask, 'Why are they resorting to working in garbage? Don't they have any work to do in their households? Why don't they stay at home and take care of their children?' says Hussein.
"But they realize that it is not just garbage, it is their environment, it is their health, it is the health of their children. They are working to make their communities healthier.
Many of the traditional and rural communities in Minya were especially resistant to female involvement.
"At the beginning it was very hard. Most of the people in Minya had no idea what we were talking about when we discussed gender rights, says Hany Tawfik, project manager for CENACT.
"The women in Minya have never had a chance to play an important role in society. It has been a great achievement to get women working outside of their houses, says Tawfik.
In the face of strong resistance in rural communities from men and women alike, the CENACT staff takes heart in the personal accomplishments of women involved in the project.
In the village of Tookh El-Gabal in the Deir Mawas district of Minya, one of the local CDAs' chairpersons is a woman. After rising through the ranks of the organization she went on to run for a seat in the local People's Council.
Another success story can be seen by looking at the case of Hoda, a woman from the small village of El Borgaya 7 km from Minya.
Hoda worked as a motivator in her conservative community. Along with another woman, she convinced 280 households to join the project and pay subscriptions.
Initially working as a volunteer, Hoda was eventually hired on at LE 125 a month. It was the first time she had ever worked outside of her house.
"I started as a volunteer doing charity work for the CDA and now I am one of the key staff and a decision-maker in the project . Now I can support my husband, my children and myself, she said in a 2007 interview with CENACT staff.
While considerable changes have been made in the lives of the women working in the project, everyone involved hopes that changing attitudes will benefit the lives of all women in the communities.
"We have insisted on new attitudes towards the status of women and were seeing changes. But we're stressing to the communities that women's rights should not be restricted to the field of environment, they extend across all fields, said Abdel-Meguid of the EEAA.


Clic here to read the story from its source.