Egypt Promotes Women Economic Empowerment Through National Conference

Photo of the event held in Cairo in support of women’s role (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the event held in Cairo in support of women’s role (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt Promotes Women Economic Empowerment Through National Conference

Photo of the event held in Cairo in support of women’s role (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the event held in Cairo in support of women’s role (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The National Consultation on Women’s Economic Empowerment in Egypt - organized by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation in collaboration with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Embassy of Sweden – kicked off on Tuesday in Cairo, with the participation of diplomats and representatives of international organizations.

Gabriela Ramos, OECD chief of staff, valued the presence of eight women ministers in the Egyptian government, pointing out that the OECD sought to support the Egyptian government’s plans to empower women and its economic reform agenda.

“Increasing women’s employment rates from the current 23% to 50% will improve the growth rate by about 7%, so we must emphasize that women’s empowerment is an economic issue, not just a social issue,” she said.

Ramos added that Egypt assumed a great role in the region in the empowerment of women, pointing out that many African countries have taken Egypt as an example in implementing economic reforms in this regard.

Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said that the ministry was working on legislative reforms and investment policies for the economic empowerment of women, and attracting investors to inject new investments in Egypt, especially businesswomen.

Nasr emphasized the ministry’s focus on providing job opportunities for women and the youth, adding that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has stressed, since the beginning of his term, the need to support the empowerment of women in all fields.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”