“When I first gave birth, I thought my life would end at this point,” Engy Moataz tells Egyptian Streets. “I thought I would become weaker and less productive, but I decided to challenge myself and prove to myself that life does not end after marriage.” For many women today, motherhood still carries a negative connotation of obstructing their ambitions and desires, as they are often expected to play the main role of nurturing and raising the child. The topic generally centers around finding ‘harmony’ between being a mother and a working woman, yet never focuses on how motherhood can actually be a driver for success, or how work can actually enhance and improve the motherhood experience. Recently, there has been a strong and emerging trend of “Mumpreneurs”, which describes mothers involved in entrepreneurial activities, and their desire to create a better environment for their family and overall community. The term also acknowledges that a lot of women starting their own businesses still play a huge role at home compared to men, and the inequality that arises from this. Engy Moataz is a 27-year-old mother and founder of her own business…
Watch Two Egyptians Travel Across Egypt With No Money
Two Egyptians, Seif Tamer and Abdullah El Shamy, sought out to hitchhike their way across Egypt with no money to test and experience the kindness of Egyptians. The duo started out their trip by packing up their backpacks that contains three changes of clothes and a reusable water bottle. Each had only EGP 1 in their pocket as a symbolism. They are documenting their trip around Egypt in a series of videos that they are sharing on Seif’s Youtube channel. As they walked towards Suez Road from Masaken El Sheraton in Cairo, Seif began asking people what they can do with just one pound, and many shared a similar answer: not much. “Without money, you become reliant, and living off the kindness of the people of a place is the best way to mitigate everyone’s fears and bust the myths surrounding it,” Seif wrote on the description of his video. With the expectation that many people would be offended by the fact that the two travelers are unable to pay for services, most people were understanding, and rather helpful. One person that offered Seif and Abdullah a ride to Suez…
#WeCompleteEachOther: New Campaign Promoting Social Cohesion Between Egyptians and Migrants
The Embassy of Switzerland, with the support of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Youth and Sports, and in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration, launched a Clickfunding campaign on Thursday 18th of July called ‘#WeCompleteEachOther’ to support the integration of migrants in Egypt with a focus on the economic benefits of migration. The online campaign has been developed by the award-winning Egyptian social start-up Bassita, which is a social start-up specialized in awareness and fundraising for positive initiatives. Bassita creates and implements online and on-ground awareness activities through developing partnerships with a large range of stakeholders, including media, governmental entities, NGOs and private sector companies. Directed by renowned director Sherif El Bendary, the campaign stars movie star Asser Yassin and depicts a social experiment seeking to illustrate that what unites people is stronger than their differences. Egyptians and migrants from 15 nationalities took part in the social experiment during which they presented statements and asked those who identified with what was being said to gather on stage. Participants from completely different backgrounds found that they are in fact similar in many ways. The initiative was developed as a…
Algerian Fans Stir Chaos, Smash Glass Gates at Cairo Airport for Delayed Flights
Thousands of Algerian football fans waiting at Cairo Airport to return home after winning the African Cup of Nations stirred riots and and chaos due to delayed flights, smashing glass doors, throwing bottles and clashing with the security forces at the airport, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Following these violent scenes, Cairo Airport authorities contacted the office of Algerian Airlines in Cairo and requested for places to be provided for Algerian fans on the airline’s aircrafts or hotel rooms for them near the airport as required by aviation laws. https://twitter.com/EremNews/status/1152895494215086080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1152895494215086080&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eremnews.com%2Fnews%2Farab-world%2Fegypt%2F1896392 Major General Ahmed al-Anwar, Assistant Minister of Interior and Director of Cairo International Airport security, ordered the security personnel to exercise restraint and allow those who do not have flight tickets to enter the airport for shelter from the hot weather outside. Air Algerie also announced on its official website that great efforts are being exerted by the company to return individuals and families to their country. Cairo Airport called on additional numbers of employees to complete the departure procedures for Algerian fans. On Friday night, AFCON 2019 drew to a close in Egypt with Algeria winning the title against…
Three Public Incubators That Help Egyptian Entrepreneurs Kick-Start Their Businesses
Egypt has had a thriving entrepreneurship scene for almost 10 years that has now been receiving several governmental support from entities like who are working to aid incubators as well as rising and existing entrepreneurs on reaching their maximum potential by providing funding opportunities and mentorship. Entrepreneurship has been gaining attraction for a while now for several reasons. According to a research done on business incubators, “Entrepreneurship is an important factor in facilitating poverty reduction, creation of employment opportunities, and structural changes within its context. In essence, entrepreneurship is an important tool for improving living standards and the general well-being of the society,” author Mohamed Imam Salem writes. Last year during the opening of GEN Week, Minister of Investment and Cooperation Sahar Nasser highlighted how important it is for the government to support entrepreneurs who are paving the way for job opportunities. Most entrepreneurs help solve many of Egypt’s prevailing problems such as pollution and transportation, which takes a load off of the government. With governmental support and cooperation, both parties will collaborate to establish a better services for Egyptian citizens and residents. One way the government supports entrepreneurs is…
Outrage After British Airways Suspends All Cairo Flights
In an abrupt turn of events, passengers flying through British Airways on Saturday were shocked to discover that the airline has cancelled all flights to and from Cairo for seven days, citing ‘security reasons’. “We constantly review our security arrangements at all our airports around the world,” the airline said in an official statement on its website, “and have suspended flights to Cairo for seven days as a precaution to allow for further assessment.” The decision was mirrored for one day by German airline Lufthansa on Saturday. “As safety is the number one priority of Lufthansa, the airline has temporarily suspended its flights to Cairo today as a precaution, while further assessment is being made,” a Lufthansa spokesperson said according to the Financial Times, adding that flights would be cancelled on Saturday and would resume on Sunday. Confusion and Outrage Following the news, Egyptian civil aviation officials and government officials announced that British Airways had not informed them of the cancellation prior to it coming into effect. Egyptian government officials speaking to local media also said that they had not been notified of any security issues or any reasons as…
Aswan’s Philae Island to Become a Touristic Attraction With Nubian-Inspired Hotel
In coordination with the Ministry of Tourism, Aswan’s governor Ahmed Ibrahim announced a project to renovate Philae Island, turning it into an open tourist attraction to be placed within the agenda of tourism programs in a way that is compatible with the nature conservation plan, reports Sada el Balad. Ibrahim also mentioned the new vision of using the mountainous highlands surrounding it to build a new hotel or motels in Nubian architectural style, as well as bazaars, cafeterias and restaurants. The vision also includes the establishment of a museum that tells the story of the rescue of the temples similar to the museum of Abu Simbel, to provide all the historical and archaeological information and enjoy a full touristic experience. Previously, the temples were visited by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and a youth delegation from the Arab-African Youth Forum held in Aswan. The temple has a great display of sound and light that takes viewers on a journey from the past to discover the myth of Isis and Osiris with dazzling lighting and great music. The Philae temple was dedicated to the goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris and…
The Story of Amira, 15-Year-Old Girl Detained For Killing Her Rapist
Last Monday, Amira Ahmed Rizk, a junior high school student, was detained for 15 days in a juvenile detention center after she was charged with premeditated murder for stabbing her rapist 14 times. The 15-year-old girl’s case has been sent to medical and forensic examinations, with investigations still ongoing, and the weapon used in the crime was sent to the criminal laboratory for examination. The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) commented on the incident in a report, “we offer her all the support,” and pointed out that the legal support unit in the Council was directed to assign a lawyer to follow up and attend the investigations and provide support and support to the girl. Dina Fouad, Rizk’s lawyer, explained the full story on the TV program ’90 minutes’, stating that Rizk was in a relationship with a young boy named Ibrahim, who agreed to meet her in a zoo in Giza on Friday. Though the narrative was changed as she was surprised to find another friend with him, and Ibrahim later took her mobile mistakenly as a ‘joke’ and then disappeared with it. Later on, when Rizk…
Algeria Crowned AFCON 2019 Champions After Beating Senegal 1-0
On Friday night, AFCON 2019 drew to a close in Egypt with Algeria securing the decisive goal against Senegal just two minutes into the game, one of the fastest ever in an AFCON final. Baghdad Bounedjah’s shot that looped over Senegalese goalkeeper Alfred Gomes was enough to give the Northern African country its second AFCON title since they first won against Nigeria back in 1990. While Senegal dominated for the rest of the match, they were not able to score an equalizing goal. This is only the second time they have made it to the final since 2002 and they have yet to win the African cup. Initially scheduled to be hosted in Cameroon, Egypt was chosen to be the host of the 32nd AFCON back in January 2019, the cup taking place from 21 June to 19 July. Hosted in six stadiums across the country, the final was held in Cairo’s International Stadium, which has a capacity of up to 75,000 seats. The host country and expected winners surprisingly exited the tournament as early as in the first round after a 1-0 loss to the Republic of South Africa….