Plan International Egypt honors the winners of "Sports for Development" Marathon

Dr. Sahar El Sonbaty, the Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, Mr. Saad Nadeem, the representative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Dr. Mohamed Kamal, Chairman of Plan International Egypt, participated in the events of Plan International Egypt.

The closing of the events witnessed distributing medals for the three winning positions. A number of influential figures in community development were awarded, among whom were the actor, Dalia El-Behery, head of Nile TV International, Dr. Taghreed Hussein, the former representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the regional expert in population and reproductive health, Dr. Magdy Khaled, the chairperson of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, Dr. Nehad Abolkomsan, the TV presenter of "Min El Qalb Ela El Qalb/ Heart-to-Heart" show on MBC Misr, Eman Ryad, and the Administrative Prosecution Deputy, Mrs. Aya Salah.

The marathon intends to support the participation of young women and men to face social causes; particularly the violence against women and girls. The events also included honoring the influential examples who support girls and women's rights to protection and renounce all forms of violence.

In her statement, Dr. Sahar El-Sonbaty, the Secretary General of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, pointed out to the efforts of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood in childhood initiatives and empowering girls, as well as the issues of female circumcision, early marriage and family planning from the perspective of child's rights. She added that the Council always seeks to put an end and completely eliminate the increasing crime of female circumcision, raise the awareness within society to end the obsolete beliefs, and certainly disseminate the culture of reporting such a crime, its perpetrators, the instigators and those supporting it; such is to be done through the official channels of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood.

Mr. Saad Nadeem, the representative of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, stated that Plan International Egypt is working on social causes throughout Egypt, especially in the Upper Egypt; this accords with the objectives of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, in  partnership for development, and to implement the sustainable development goals and make "sports a lifestyle", which is evidenced by the marathon's slogan "Sports for development".

He added that the Ministry of Youth and Sport seeks to strengthen the partnership with Plan International Egypt in the upcoming period through launching initiatives and campaigns of awareness throughout all the governorates, especially in remote areas, Upper Egypt and frontier governorates. The Ministry supervises about 4 thousand youth centers within Egypt, requiring concerted effort and partnerships with civil society organizations.

In his statement, the Chairman of Plan International Egypt, Dr. Mohamed Kamal, stated that Plan International Egypt intends in its marathon, which is organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, to support the participation of young women and girls to face social causes; in particular, violence against women and girls. He added that Plan International Egypt believes that sport is an inherent right for all youth and girls, and a strong motive to enhance the condition of women and create a positive change on all levels. Practicing sports has already become a right and demand for children and girls, which requires a concerted effort of government bodies and civil society organizations to achieve it.

Dr. Mohamed Kamal pointed out that Plan International Egypt has been present in the Egyptian society for 40 years in around 12 governorates. It implements various programs that use sports as a way to mobilize society towards women issues, achieving the objectives and engaging many of the girls and young women in non-governmental organizations, as well as empowering them to perform many initiatives, since women no longer make up one half of the society; they are rather the whole society.

He added that the organization implements a social project in association with some government bodies under the title "Safe Cities for Girls". It intends to support girls to live a life without violence and support girls' rights to equality and engagement in the decision-making process, using sports as a method to empower women and support their sense of feeling safe and secure.