I was born in a rural Bedouin community in North Sinai Governorate, Egypt. Being a woman in a Bedouin community is not easy. The customs and traditions of Bedouin people don’t allow women to work outside their homes and women’s education opportunities are quite limited. But despite the economic and gender difficulties that women face here I’m positive about the possibility of strengthening our leadership roles in our communities.

To actively participate in this change, I started the Youth Sinai Foundation for Development and Human Rights in 2012. We support young women in claiming their rights and becoming relevant economic and political actors. I work with them to increase their participation within the community. We raise awareness around the legal rights for women who undertake agricultural activities and help them in completing all the required administrative papers and documents.

Through our foundation, women also raise their skill in non-traditional agricultural activities, including cultivation of olives and methods of processing and packaging medicinal and aromatic plants. As we have extended our work to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Bardawil, we also started working on the integration of women in fisheries. They are now participating in fishing sector networks and are learning about methods of peeling, packaging and marketing of shrimps. In addition, the young women we work with are improving their already great skill in needlework and handmade products. I’ve realised that for many women in the Sinai region this is a very good way to make a living, as it allows them to work from home and they are able to produce very good quality and sophisticated materials.

As young Bedouin women are engaged in these activities, they become aware of the important role they play in society. We encourage them to take part in political decision making and show them the benefits for society when they are active in their communities. I am proud to work with these young women and I can see we are already becoming stronger. My hope for the future is that Bedouin women will participate in all walks of life, especially in politics.

Yasmina Atta

Yasmina Atta is founder of the Youth Sinai Foundation for Development and Human Rights and the Youth Sinai Development Company. She is also a member of YPARD, the community of Young Professionals for Agricultural Development. Email: yasmina_atta@yahoo.com

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The woman and daughter in this photo live in Fayoum governorate in Egypt. This is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, which is why many people keep their poultry on the roofs of their houses.

This woman used to earn a considerable share of the total household income by selling live birds and eggs. But since February 2006, when Egypt experienced one of the worst outbreaks of avian influenza outside Asia, things have changed. In an effort to limit the spread of HPAI and the risk of human infection, 30 million birds have been culled.

This has had a strong negative impact on the livelihoods of the poorest rural households, particularly female-headed households. Money made by selling eggs and meat used to pay for such things as food and other household necessities, in addition to medical treatment and school fees.

Many families do not have the capital to start again, in fact, they are still paying off the debt they incurred when first buying their birds on credit.

Together with the rising food prices of 2008, avian flu has caused a change in the diet of many poor people. Animal protein has been exchanged for lentils and beans.

Up till now, Egypt continues to experience outbreaks of HPAI. It is now considered one of the few countries, together with countries like Bangladesh, China and Indonesia, where the disease is endemic.

Author
Ellen Geerlings (ellengeerlings@hotmail.com) is part of the Livestock Development Group at the University of Reading. She has combined her work with her passion for photography, resulting in a publication called “People and livestock”. Some of the photos in this issue are from this publication. For more photos, see www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/797190.

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