Public Spaces And The Right To The City - Greater Cairo Region, Egypt

The purpose of the project is to eradicate violence against women and promote their civic empowerment and access to equal rights in three  areas in Greater Cairo Region; Ezbet El- Haggana, Mansheiat Nasser and Embaba. With the project's framework UN HABITIAT will be focusing on four aspects to achieve which are   :

• Residents, especially women and girls, feel safer in public spaces in the pilot areas.
• Local authorities better understand the scope of safety for women and girls at neighborhood level and the way to address them.
• Local communities feel responsible for their immediate environment and respect women's and girls' rights in public spaces.
• National legislation adapts urban safety and security guidelines in physical planning and upgrading of public spaces.

 The targeted population which is women, men, boys and girls will be granted a sense of security in public areas. The project activities will result in creating safe public spaces accessible to the most community vulnerable groups; also the project will provide women with technical assistance to achieve economic empowerment.

To achieve the project aspects, the project will adhere to community based approach to create a safe place for women and consequently the community. In partnership with UN Women, GOPP, Cairo and Giza Governorates, local NGOs and community representatives, the project selected the most unsafe areas in the targeted community and started creating open spaces where cultural and sports activities will be implemented. Transferring the most unsecured areas into public spaces will severely reduce the percentage of the crimes related to sexual and physical assault.