Countryside NGOs highlighting changes on the 6th stop of Sailing the Nile for Development MINYA: In a rare show of defiance, Wedan, the mayor s wife in a typical Upper Egyptian village, nominates herself for candidacy in the election against her husband. The play A Mayor Without a Mustache, was one of a few poignant examples of real progress being made in Egypt towards the UN millennium goal to promote gender equality and women s empowerment, more convincing than all the officials assurances throughout the Sailing the Nile for Development stop in El-Minya. The play comically tells the story of a mayor s wife who, despite strong opposition from men, is elected mayor in a conservative, traditional village. Throughout, she makes statements such as there s no difference between the man and the woman, and If the mayor was meant to be a male, it would be called omd not omda . Before she can withdraw from the race, stating that though she will not be forced to do anything, she would still prefer her husband s comfort as long as they can agree to work together, they are brought news of her win. She makes positive changes in her village and is a success. What is remarkable about the play is not that it was performed, but that it was performed by physically impaired, illiterate students from the Jesuit Association, all coming from the conservative rural village mentality they depict. In fact, the young man who played the mayor s husband, Mostafa Mahmoud, was most against the project at the start. At first, I thought, how could a mayor be a woman? We re from the country not a city. By the end Mahmoud told The Daily Star Egypt that he was convinced that a woman could become mayor, along with other high-ranking positions, Why not? In all honesty, what s important to me is improvement. He added that just by seeing the play, even his siblings were convinced of the point. Also symbolic of true change is that director and playwright Luis El-Minyawi did not write the play for the occasion, but for the students graduating performance one year ago. He says the story was inspired by a real woman who won the mayoral election in Upper Egypt. At an NDP conference held the next day, officials stressed that women s empowerment was not all about holding high positions, which was desirable but would take time, but also about hearing women s voices in daily life, starting with participating in decisions at home and in idea-making. Heba El-Naggar, program assistant for Unifem, told The Daily Star Egypt that the reason political participation and positions are important is because it s been proven that when women aren t represented then their needs get ignored. Also emphasized throughout the event was the importance of educating women and girls, who are more often denied education than males. International NGO Care showed a video of one rural girl, previously uneducated, sharing her experiences after being given a second chance at education through the organization s efforts. She is visibly confident and proud as she expresses her new ambitions to work and marry and be something. She even considers studying beyond university. Education makes you feel like you re really a person, she says, it s not only important personally, but it can raise a family and can raise a nation. Save the Children s Ishraq program similarly attempts to empower girls and their families by providing education for girls who rarely leave the house and whose families had opted for them to stay home and participate in chores instead. Through door-to-door visits and local assistance, they managed to graduate nearly 500 girls from the program, 91 percent of whom were then mainstreamed into the public system, some of whom continued on to higher education. From the documentary, however, it is clear that their education goes well beyond literacy. Program directors and the girls themselves say they are taught about life skills, their rights, their body and reproductive health, how to be brave, and how to communicate their opinions. They are even taught how to raise livestock and poultry, and run small-scale projects, with the result of winning the consent and pride of parents, as they contribute to the family income. One farmer, who said he was very proud of his daughter s accomplishments, even said, Marriage is her choice. No one can force her to get married. The three-day event began on Nov. 25, the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women, and was hosted and organized by local NGO Salama Moussa, bringing together governmental, non-governmental, and private entities. Other millennium goals, to be realized by 2015, deal with hunger and poverty, primary education, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, global partnership, and environmental sustainability. Eight feluccas bearing the symbol of one millennium goal each started their journey on Oct. 29 in Aswan, making stops in villages to raise awareness of a particular goal and the larger context, until they conclude in Cairo on Dec. 8.
