Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2006
Abstract
In the absence of intervention, poor, rural, unschooled girls in conservative and low-income communities throughout West Asia and North Africa, and indeed elsewhere, are destined to a life of poverty, illiteracy, early marriage, high fertility, and poor health. This report describes Ishraq, a well-designed, multidimensional skill-building program, that has altered this scenario in Upper Egypt by intervening early (around the time of puberty). The challenge for Ishraq is to link these girls, their families, and communities to the widening opportunities and rights structures of their countries through political participation, strong partnerships, and effective links among civil society, local and national governments, and NGOs. This report describes how Ishraq has set the stage for change in the original four communities with an approach that has challenged national-level decisionmakers to move substantially beyond conventional youth-serving initiatives whose beneficiaries were urban, older, and often male.
DOI
10.31899/pgy5.1003
Language
Arabic
Recommended Citation
Brady, Martha, Ragui Assaad, Barbara L. Ibrahim, Abeer Salem, Rania Salem, and Nadia Zibani. 2006. "Providing new opportunities to adolescent girls in socially conservative settings: The Ishraq program in rural Upper Egypt [Arabic]." Cairo: Population Council.
Project
Ishraq: Bringing Marginalized Rural Girls into Safe Learning Spaces in Rural Upper Egypt
Included in
Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, International Public Health Commons