About 8,000 girls will benefit from a pilot scheme that aims to achieve gender equality in Egypt.
The Noura initiative led by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and backed by the Egyptian government and private and public sector partners, will build the social, health and economic assets of girls aged 10 to 18 through a 40-week intensive programme.
The UNFPA programme has been introduced in countries including Ethiopia, India, Guatemala and Uganda.
The pilot will begin in January and 8,000 trainees and 1,000 mentors are being selected for peer-to-peer support. The girls will be given training sessions on topics including health issues and financial literacy in partnership with NGOs.
Participants will be chosen from 20 villages in Sohag and Assiut in Upper Egypt. The project will be scaled up if funding is available, organisers said.
The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the National Council for Women, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development and the government of the Netherlands are the main partners for the project.
“More diversity, more gender equality leads to more well-being and more prosperity,” said Frederika Meijer, the UNFPA Egypt representative, at the launch event during El Gouna Film Festival on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.
“There are around nine million adolescent girls in Egypt,” Ms Meijer said. “Investing in them and allowing them to reach their full potential means investing in the entire population. We must bridge the gender gap and prepare these young girls for the future as active and skilled citizens.”
She pointed to the urgent need for action, citing the World Economic Forum’s 2021 gender gap report that said it will take another 136 years to reach gender equality in the world.
“Hence it is important for the world and for Egypt to invest in girls now, so that they will become women who can reach their full potential and who can achieve gender equality at a faster pace,” Ms Meijer said.
Egypt ranked 129th out of 156 countries in the annual gender gap report, gaining five places from the year before.
There has been improvement, with 27 per cent of Egypt’s parliamentary representatives and 24 per cent of ministers being women, but progress has been slow, the report said.
“Empowering Egyptian women, or empowering women at large, is empowering a nation. And investing in young girls is empowering the future of the nation,” said Maya Morsy, president of the National Council for Women.
Planning Minister Hala El Said highlighted government programmes already in place designed to improve the skills and participation rate of women in the workforce, eliminate illiteracy and promote family planning.
“Fertility decisions that affect adolescent health are grounded in a broad socioeconomic context and underline complex behavioural dynamics, which in turn affect decisions about marriage, childbearing, education and health care,” said Ms El Said.
She highlighted the need to empower adolescent girls, boost self-awareness of their health and economic risks to give them “greater bargaining power and more decision-making power about their future”.
International Co-operation Minister Rania Al Mashat said the focus on adolescent girls was important to support Egypt’s 2030 vision in line with the UN's 17 sustainable development goals.
The Noura initiative addresses the main goal of gender equality, but will also contribute to at least seven other goals, including quality education, no poverty and good health and well-being.
UNFPA signed two agreements with the Sawiris Foundation and the Export Development Bank of Egypt to support the Noura initiative.
The Sawiris Foundation focuses on pressing issues facing marginalised Egyptians such as poverty, unemployment, lack of health services and limited access to quality education.
“We work a lot with girls in their younger years and women, but 10 to 18 is generally an age group that we don’t target and it’s very important for reducing early childhood marriage, preventing female genital mutilation, promoting reproductive health, and so on,” Noura Selim, executive director of the Sawiris Foundation, told The National.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 race, 12:30pm
Formula 1 final practice, 2pm
Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm
Formula 2 race, 6:40pm
Performance: Sam Smith
Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
PRISCILLA
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How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
Blonde
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