President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi announced on Friday, which marked the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, that he has directed the interior minister to release all imprisoned indebted women after paying their debts through the Tahya Misr Fund, assuring the importance of spending the feast time with their families. The president added on his official Facebook account that Egypt will always strive to uphold human dignity and to implement the necessary measures to preserve social protection and reduce phenomena negatively affecting social stability. The Tahya Misr Fund was established in July 2014 to support the national economy and is under the direct supervision of the president. Moreover, it is based on fundraising for the establishment of community projects. The president's decree comes under the presidential campaign called "Prisons without indebted men or women", which applies to those who failed to repay loans borrowed for family expenses. The Ministry of Interior explained in a press release that Al-Sisi released more than 960 indebted males and females, as the Tahya Misr Fund guaranteed the debts of these indebted people, which amounted to more than EGP 30m. There are no clear numbers of women who are unable to repay loans in Egypt. But according to the latest statistics of the Misr AlKheir Foundation, there are tens of thousands of women who fail to meet their payment commitments and end up in prison. For her Part, Maya Morsi, president of the National Council of Women (NCW), expressed deep thanks to the president. She pointed out that the issue of indebted women is a serious problem and needs an immediate solution and work to cope with it as quickly as possible. Morsi asserted that the NCW is interested in that issue and holds awareness seminars for women across different governorates to not become victims for the weak souls who exploit the suffering and needs of these families. She explained that there are multiple reasons for this problem, including economic circumstances and women's lack of awareness of the law and their rights. For her part, Elizabeth Shaker, member of the House of Representatives, told Daily News Egypt in late May on the sidelines of the panel discussion organized by the Egyptian Feminist Union on the problem of the law and indebted women, that the problem of indebted women is growing in Egypt. She continued that there are multiple reasons for this, agreeing with Morsi that the most notable are the difficult economic conditions and the cases of illness.
