73

The role of national associations in supporting women issues

Egyptian society suffers many problems and issues, where the most important issue nowadays, in Egypt, is the woman head of family. Woman head of family became a complicated case because poverty became one of the most serious problems that threats different categories of our society. It is a complicated because women are one of the most important sectors that are deprived from education, health care, job opportunity in the market because they lack education and enough training and internship that qualify them to be hired in a fixed salary job or a small project. Thus, a phenomenon of feminized poverty started to appear.
Egyptian woman faces many bad societal circumstances, where Egypt is one of the least developing nations that suffer many economic, social, and political foreclosures and hardships. Women are one of the most important categories in Egypt that suffer these foreclosures, especially those women who head their families, such as; widows, divorced women, wives of husbands with serious diseases, wives of totally or partially disabled husbands, prisoners' wives, abandoned wives... etc. Therefore, a woman became responsible for an entire family, with no regard to the numbers of family members. Moreover, seasonal workers' wives, and wives to unemployed husbands suffer the same circumstances. Those hard circumstances extend to reach non-married girls; they turn to be responsible of their families because of the absence of the father; head of the family, for any reason, like; death, disease, or disability...etc., thus, those girls turn to be the head of the family.
Therefore, the role of the civil activity in the field of social care is considered as a clear positive appearance of the humanitarian feelings of the citizen, a real representation of the social solidarity and support, and a proof of the virtues of humanity. So, civil activity started to appear since the early beginning of the human being, and accompanied his development. Civil activities started to contribute to provide services and enhance life circumstances of citizens before states started to do so. It helped in confronting problems that face society, using their own efforts.
Role of civil foundation to advance the circumstances of family heading woman
The role of civil foundation is prominent because it is considered as the connection between poor neglected sectors of the society, including woman head of family, from one side, and the government from the other side. Civil foundations are considered the legal channel, in which woman can resort to, asking for aid.
This role is represented in the following:
1- The role of civil foundations in enhancing the economic level of woman head of family:
The most suffering sector from poverty is the sector of woman. She is the least likely to have a job and get paid. The problem gets worse for women who head their families, who are responsible for affording their families' expenses, since most of those supporting ladies are located in the poorest sectors of the society. Women of those sectors have a limited contribution in the economic activity, mainly because of the economic recession and employers' reluctant attitude towards the issue of women's work. In addition, there are no internship opportunities available for women, which qualify them to work in a more professional way. So, the role of civil foundations that helps women who head their families rises as following:-
1- Increasing internship opportunities for women.
2- Civil foundations should work on attracting private sector and business men to be members of those foundations, and, therefore, contribute in funding. As a result, civil foundations guarantee the increase of the quarters that fund them.
3- Civil foundations shall work on securing suitable job opportunities for woman head of family and members of such a family, and for young females, if they have reached an appropriate age of work.
4- Civil foundations should increase their members within each governorate, so that they can be able to, indeed, help every woman that heads its family, via paying to her a fixed monthly income that guarantees stability for her and her family.
5- Urging all quarters that adopt the case of women rights to secure a job for women, and support their economic activities.
2- Role of civil foundations in educating the woman head of family:
Majority of females working in Egyptian market belongs to the illiterates, or low-level educated sectors of the society, which indicates the low standard skills of the working women, and, consequently, the hardships they face if they want to participate in activities with high income.
The mount of these percentages makes it a must for the civil foundations that work in the field of woman rights to tackle their efforts in order to educate woman head of family through the following:
1- Classes of education for women must be located in the same area where the woman lives, or near to it.
2- Civil foundations must inform women about the education classes prepared for them.
3- Encouraging and motivating intelligent ladies in the education classes by granting them small production project.
4- Foundations shall provide ladies with free studying books and tools. 5- Education classes must be in various and different times, in order to suit the different circumstances of working woman.
6- Civil foundation must adopt scientific researches in order to find new strategies for confronting women illiteracy.
3- Role of civil foundations in providing the health care for the woman head of family: The way in which woman head of family can secure health care for herself and her family, and save the expenses of doctors' checks and medicines is one of the major problems that she faces. So, civil foundations are required to save the suitable medical care for the caring woman, through the following:-
1- Civil foundations should secure needed financial resources to offer medical services permanently, inside the foundation.
2- Civil foundations shall secure periodic free medical check for the woman head of family and her family.
3- Civil foundations shall secure the availability of doctors of all specializations within it.
4- Decreasing the price of the doctors' check, and expenses of treatment of affording woman and her family.
5- Civil foundations shall secure the existence of medical caravans.
4-Role of civil foundations in raising the social and cultural level of woman head of family:
The husband missed from the family, for any aforementioned reason, may expose the family to many crises; the wife has to go out for work, she doesn't have much time to look after her children, thus, social problems for the woman head of family increase. Those problems, woman suffers from, lead to her confusion in social and societal situations and relations, and weakens her ability to fulfil her social duties, whether, within the family, or in the society as a broader way. Also, woman head of family, who works, suffers the problem of watching her children and looking after them, which affects negatively the social basis of the family.
Therefore, the role of civil foundations to confront to the social problems that affording woman faces appears through the following:
1-Civil foundations, that work in the field of woman's care, shall work on supporting woman to solve her social problems, whereas supporting woman in her social problem must be one of the foundation priorities.
2-Foundations shall organise seminars that discusses the various problems, sons go through in the adolescence stage, and the ways of dealing with those problems.
3-Foundation must make surveys about the types of seminars the woman needs, in order to encourage her to attend them.
4- Those seminars must be organised continuously, in suitable times, so as to be attended by all ladies. Therefore, civil foundations are required to put cultural programmes among their goals, which they seek to achieve.
5-Civil foundations shall aware women of their rights and duties toward the society.
Therefore, woman head of family needs to feel self-confidence, and to feel the ability to solve problems. This could be achieved by the efforts of civil foundations, and services and programmes they offer, to support woman. It is important to show our admiration and appreciation to women who headed their families with resilience and stability in confronting life foreclosures. From other side, the government should work teaching women who head their families the required economic skills they need for working in market. Government should also grant loans, and give facilities to women who head their families, so as to help those women find decent job, and enjoy reputable life.