Gender equity in cities of the MENA region

Professor Heba Allah Khalil and Dr. Nancy Abd El-Moneim

Funding period: 1 April 2019 – 1 December 2019
Type of funding: Seminar Series

Host institutions: Cairo University and Arab Academy of Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (Egypt)
Date: April-November 2019 (Cairo)
Lead organisers: Prof. Heba Allah Khalil (Cairo University) and Dr. Nancy Abd El-Moneim (Arab Academy of Science, Technology & Maritime Transport)
Team members: Nihal Osama, Omar Galal, Asmaa Medhat, Hanaa Gad and Amany Ramdan
Contact: Dr. Nancy Abd El-Moneim

Abstract: This series is an initiative to raise the awareness of gender equity in the MENA cities. Women who contribute effectively in the urban workforce, with a high percentage of mobility, must be respected and made feel safe. In conservative societies such as the MENA, gender equality faces many challenges due to customs and traditions; the team aims to foster women’s rights to the city and emphasize the notion of cities’ gender friendliness.

The team aims to organize a series of seminars – Cairo, April and November 2019 – to address women’s right to the city within different subjects & related domains and go beyond the three parameters of the United Nations’ Gender Inequality Index (GII); health, empowerment, and the labor market. The discussions will look deep at the causes of the limited performance of MENA cities according to the GII and will pose a number of related questions. Are women’s rights respected within the design of the new cities? Are women’s rights taken into consideration while developing/ eradicating informal settlements? Is the female perspective regarded in public spaces? Do women have adequate transportation choices that enable them to actively engage in the labor market? These issues will be discussed among various stakeholders from multidisciplinary backgrounds.