Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2007

Abstract

Adolescent girls in the poorest villages of Upper Egypt, who were kept from school by poverty and other obstacles, face a bleak future that will replicate the poverty and disadvantage of their own families. This stark picture of vulnerability encouraged four long-standing nongovernmental organizations working in Egypt—Caritas, CEDPA (Centre for Development and Population Activities), the Population Council, and Save the Children—to create a multidimensional program for 13–15-year-old out-of-school girls. The pilot intervention, known locally as Ishraq, sought to transform girls’ lives by changing gender norms and community perceptions about girls’ roles in society while bringing them safely and confidently into the public sphere. The story of that pilot program and the changes it has brought about is the subject of this report. Ishraq represents a model of collaboration between government, local communities, NGOs, and international agencies, leading to sustainable national partnerships. Indeed, as the Ishraq program expands and receives increasing national and international recognition, other countries facing similar challenges have begun to examine the Ishraq model.

DOI

10.31899/pgy5.1002

Language

English

Project

Ishraq: Bringing Marginalized Rural Girls into Safe Learning Spaces in Rural Upper Egypt

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