Honoring Egyptian Women and Ideal Mothers Ceremony

"Dear Egyptians,
Great Egyptian women,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Allow me, at the outset, to extend my greetings, appreciation and respect to all of you and to the great Egyptian people, especially to the great Egyptian women; the Nile daughters and ladies, and the makers of happiness and development.

Great Egyptian women,
I’m extremely happy today to attend this celebration, that has become an annual Egyptian tradition we are keen on, to mark and reflect our genuine feeling, as a state and society, towards woman, whether she is a wife, a mother, a daughter or sister, as well as to express our appreciation and gratitude to woman for all the roles she plays on in the life, all of whom are important and respected roles.

Woman as a “mother” is the supporter and fountainhead of goodness and virtues, source of unconditional giving and sacrifice and teacher of values and wisdom. She is the fortress of psychological safety, and no words can weight her position.

Woman as a “wife” is the faithful partner and the companion of our life, with its fluctuations and challenges, in times of happiness and sadness. She is the safe haven to her husband, when he faces crises, and she is his unlimited supporter. Woman as “sister and daughter” is the source of smiling and happiness to her parents, since being a baby girl, until she is growing day after day and becoming a youth, with dreams and aspiration, so that her parents’ dreams and happiness will flourish with her.

The development and promotion of any society is measured by its cultural, moral and cognitive development and is closely connected with the cultural and awareness, development of women as well as their effective contribution to building and developing the society. The Ancient Egyptian civilization ranked first among all human civilizations at that time, concerning treating and appreciation of women, as well as its recognition of their different contributions in all fields. This unique position was memorialized by inscriptions on the Pharaonic antiquities walls, which became a conclusive evidence for the Egyptians on our nobility origins and our civilized human relations.

In the modern era, the Egyptian woman continues her promotion and supremacy, as she participated in the 1919 Revolution, that we celebrate its centenary, when the martyrs of the Egyptian women fell with the Egyptian genuine men and became immortal in the conscience of the homeland. The march of the woman’s struggle continued, as women gained the right to elect and practice all their political rights, and before that the rights to education, and assuming public positions until today, where women are seen in all fields of national work. Women work honestly, strongly and efficiently and effectively contribute to building Egypt, being the great mothers, who gave birth to loyal and honest women and men.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Egyptian woman proved, a generation after another, and throughout the Egyptian long history, that she is an essential element in the homeland’s equation and full-fledged partner in all its battles, wars and challenges. Woman is indeed Egypt’s defense line against any challenges or hardships. She holds responsibilities of the homeland on her shoulders and offered the martyrs with an unshakable determination.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we have achieved a progress in the march of supporting and empowerment of woman, we still have a lot to aspire, until we reach a society of justice and equity, in which that all citizens participate in building the homeland, with the same vigor and determination, so I direct the government to do the following:

First: to study ways to achieve greater participation of women in the labor market; provide an appropriate and supportive environment, and appropriate social protection for women; encourage women working in the informal sector to shift to the formal sector and to enter nontraditional sectors in which their ambitions are fulfilled.

Second: I entrust the government to put in place the appropriate legislations aimed at protecting women from all forms of psychological and physical violence, taking into consideration, that early marriage before the legal age, denial of education or the appropriate alimony for a woman and her children in the event of divorce, are all multiple forms of violence.

Third: The government must conduct an deeper and more comprehensive study of the phenomenon of imprisoned women for failing to pay debts, and draft legislations and policies that would reduce this phenomenon due to its severe repercussions on the Egyptian family.

Fourth: In the light of the previous directives to draft a family awareness project to prepare youth for the responsibilities of marriage, I look forward to the effective and positive implementation of the affection “Mawada” program, which will bring about the stability of the family and preserves the rights of both spouses, along with a study for enacting a new personal status law.

Fifth: I call on the government to take the necessary measures to achieve financial inclusion, technological empowerment of women, and provide further support for small enterprises that offer work opportunities to women.

Sixth: In light of all of our pride of the representation and role of women, in Parliament and government, which is the highest in the history of Egypt, I call for greater political participation and greater engagement in various sectors. Egypt is in the process of building its renaissance, and it is in need of the efforts of its daughters, side by side with its sons.

Seventh: I invite the government to study amending the Public Service Law, to become a tool for training and qualifying Egyptian young women to join the labor market, besides developing the necessary mechanisms and incentives to achieve this.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the end of my speech, I extend an invitation to every Egyptian citizen, and I tell them: Egyptian women deserve a safe and secure street, where they can walk peacefully, a suitable work place and good treatment everywhere that shows our people’s civilization.
I tell the Egyptian women: “from me, and from your homeland, we extend to you all appreciation, respect and gratitude”,
Many happy returns,
May Allah's peace and mercy be upon you"