Women's health challenges in post-revolutionary Egypt

Abstract

In a recent UN report more than 99% of the hundreds of the women surveyed in Egypt reported having experiencing some form of sexual harassment ranging from minor harassment to rape. Amid continued political turmoil since the 2011 overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak the government led by the Muslim Brotherhood denies that women’s rights and health are being undermined. Furthermore the Arab Spring that swept away dictatorial regimes and bolstered reform across the Middle East in the past couple of years has a mixed record when it comes to women’s rights. Early in 2012 the Muslim Brotherhood attacked a draft UN declaration on combating violence against women saying it advocated sexual freedoms for women and the right to abortion. Before and after the revolution women still face a plethora of health challenges including female genital mutilation gender-based violence poor access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and mental health services chronic diseases and hepatitis C. This article brief discusses the efforts and obstacles faced by several international stakeholders working with women in Egypt including USAID the UN Population Fund Doctors of the World Doctors without Borders and various other local and global non-governmental organizations.