In an interview with UN Women following the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) held last march, Nehad Abo El-Komsan, Lawyer, Co-founder and Chairwoman of the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights, said that in the recent years, there have been many positive developments in Egypt in terms of women´s rights and place in the society.

“Women’s rights were included in our constitution in 2014 and since then many legislations have been changed, especially in relation to violence against women. The Egyptian Center of Women’s Rights developed a national strategy for stopping violence against women. Sexual harassment, female genital mutilation and child marriage have been included in the law, with harsh penalties. Although these good developments have taken place, women still face challenges. Implementation of the law is a major challenge. It is very important to raise awareness of law enforcement authorities and [help them] understand it is not just a women’s issue, it is protection for the whole society.” she added.

More than 4,300 civil society representatives from 130 countries participated in the CSW62 which focused on rural women and girls.

In the link below, you can read the views and the perspectives of more civil society representatives who were asked by UN Women why do they came and what do they take back with them from this UN meeting?