The Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) announced that it will contribute SEK 27m in support of the mobilisation for women's rights in Egypt. The initiative will help create 500,000 new jobs for Egyptian women. "The initiative aims to strengthen the participation of women in politics and business, reduce genital mutilation and sexual harassment," the Swedish embassy said in an official statement. The initiative will provide support for women at an individual level, which will include including capacity-building for female entrepreneurs and assistance in acquiring jobs. The embassy stated that the job creation initiative will be implemented through "Cash for Work" programmes, in cooperation with the Social Fund for Development. Several government agencies, civil society organisations and ministries are involved in the mobilisation, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Women and the United Nations and Population Fund (UNFPA). "Strengthening the participation of women in the labour market, in politics, and in civil society is crucial to improve the situation of women in the construction of a democratic Egypt," said Swedish ambassador in Egypt Charlotta Sparre. The Embassy of Sweden stated that expected results will include the conducting of new research on women's legal, social, political and economic issues as well as increased access to legal support and information through the establishment of special help centres for women. Jon Hedenström, regional programme manager for democracy and human rights at the Swedish Embassy in Cairo, said that the support provided by Sweden is expected to reach millions of women. The support focuses on the reduction of sexual harassment and gender-based violence, in addition to creating new opportunities for women to participate more actively on all levels of society. The initiative is said to be implemented between 2014 and 2017.
