Alexandria, 5 March 2019 – In celebration of International Women’s Day, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the support of CARITAS and the Arkan Center, organized a community event in Alexandria, bringing together members of the Sudanese, South Sudanese and Yemeni communities to discuss women’s rights and empowerment.

Building on the “I Know My Right” photography exhibition, IOM organized an interactive information session about women’s rights in which the participants discussed how they protect themselves from abuses and exploitation.

The event also featured the distribution of baby boxes with blankets, sessions on women’s health, adult nutrition, and child nutrition by a CARITAS.

During the sessions, children engaged in active learning games featuring children’s rights, such as the right to play, the right to education, and the right to have a say in decisions affecting them.

This community day reflects the needs and vulnerabilities of the communities identified by the Migrant Protection and Assistance Roving Team, which operates in Alexandria and the North Coast. The activities were made possible with the support of Italy, the Kingdom of Netherlands and the European Union. This event was held under the 'Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa (RDPP NA) – Development Pillar' funded by the European Union.

This activity is in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely Goal 5.2: ‘Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.’, Goal 8.7: ‘Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.’ and Goal: 16.2 ‘End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.’

For more information, please contact Omar Awwad at IOM Egypt, Tel: +2 02 2736 5140/1, Email: oawwad@iom.int