Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi issued a presidential decree pardoning all debt defaulters, who are serving prison sentences in correctional and rehabilitation centres, before the holy month of Ramadan.
This came during a celebration for Egyptian women and the ideal mother for the year 2023, on Monday. Eighty-five people were released, comprising 40 women and 45 men, according to the Minister of Interior.
Al-Sisi said that the state is keen to ensure that the personal status law is balanced and objective. “We do not think that the parliament will remain, for example, the voice against objectivity and against balance. In the end, we aim to protect the family.”
He added that the presidency will hold a large community discussion to assure that the issue of the law will be presented in an objective and balanced manner.
Moreover, the president directed the government that women should be represented in the boards of public bodies, and business sector companies and their subsidiaries.
He also directed increasing training activities for women with the aim of increasing the number of qualified women to reach senior positions in the country, and expanding training programs in the fields of technology and digitization with the aim of increasing opportunities for women’s empowerment and their participation in job opportunities and future jobs .
The presidential orders included directives to expand support for digital savings and lending projects in the national project for the development of the Egyptian family and various development programs by building women’s capacities to implement small green projects and sustainable income-generating activities.
He also instructed the government to support the legislative and institutional environment for small and micro projects related to women by facilitating banking and banking regulations procedures, stimulating women’s projects and their entry into the activities of industrial societies with the aim of enhancing women’s contribution to the settlement of modern industry in Egypt.
In the same context, the president ordered the following up on the index of equal pay between the sexes and taking the necessary measures to ensure sustaining improvement in this indicator and protecting working women and guaranteeing their rights in the draft labor law.
The president stressed the importance of the role of Egyptian women in protecting society and the state, and said: “We will not forget that women, since 2013 until now, have played a major role in protecting Egypt.”
