Egypt successfully hosted the 12th Urban Forum (WUF12) convened by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) under the theme “It All Starts at Home: Local Actions for Sustainable Cities and Communities” in Cairo from 4 to 8 November.

The forum had “a record-breaking attendance of over 25,000 participants from 182 countries. Speakers, panelists, and attendees from diverse backgrounds explored the multifaceted dimensions of this year’s theme,” information provided at the event said.

Among the many engaging discussions at this year’s forum, all presenting innovative ideas and effective practices, were those on the “Daily Women’s Caucus,” “Feminist Cities: Advancing Care, Climate Justice, and Inclusive Urban Planning,” and the “Women’s Roundtable.” They were presented and attended mostly by women from different age groups, backgrounds and positions, including ministers, mayors, academics, parliamentarians, students, and members of the Egyptian Women’s Council.

I had the opportunity to take part in the discussions ignited by these sessions, which, while addressing the theme of the wider forum, also brought to the fore the pressing issue of violence against women. The statistics here are alarming, for according to the UN, “every 10 minutes, a woman is killed… [and] violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world.”

“Globally, an estimated 736 million women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence, meaning almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life.”

“Some 16 to 58 per cent of women globally experience technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Generation Z and Millennials are the most affected,” the UN says. Moreover, 70 per cent of women in conflict, war, and humanitarian crises experience gender-based violence. Certain practices like female genital mutilation (FGM) have increased by 15 per cent compared to data from eight years ago.

As a member of the Egyptian Senate, I was proud and hopeful when one of the first laws discussed by the Senate, Law 10 of 2021, increased the criminal penalties to between five and 20 years, depending on the circumstances, for any person committing this crime in an attempt to deter the perpetrators of FGM.

In 1981, Latin American feminist activists chose the date of 25 November to call for the elimination of violence against women and mark the memory of victims of femicide. On this day in 1960, three young Dominican women, Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Patria, known as the Mirabal sisters or “Las Mariposas” (Butterflies), were assassinated on the orders of then Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo.

In 1993, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 48/104 for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. In 1999, it designated 25 November as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in order to “raise awareness around the world that women are subjected to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence… and to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.”

Starting from 25 November this year, 16 days of activism in different forms, among them peaceful demonstrations, films, awareness-raising sessions, lectures and seminars, against gender-based violence are taking place in different parts of the world. Canada’s theme for 2024 is “Come Together, Act Now,” for example, and it emphasises how crucial it is to involve everyone, particularly men and boys, in changing social norms, attitudes, and behaviours that contribute to gender-based violence.

This year’s WUF12 contributed to the campaign by making recommendations for safe, walkable, well-lit and inclusive urban spaces for all, especially for the most vulnerable and women and children.

At the event, Claudia López Hernandez, the first female Mayor of Bogotá in Colombia, spoke of her experience when she took the position before the Covid-19 pandemic. She described her policies to change things in her city, calling for flexibility and pragmatism and using whatever resources the city had to raise the level of inclusion as much as possible. Her slogan was “raise the bar and go ahead.”

Hernandez believes in the importance of a feminist transport system, for example, describing this in an interview as “one that guarantees freedom, autonomy, and equality for women, not just in public transportation, but in the overall urban development of the city that makes public transportation a safe space for women, as it is perhaps now the place where women are most harassed.”

At the WUF12 this month, she referred to her experience in creating care centres providing services to support female caregivers and their families. Some women may still dedicate most of their time to unpaid care work, and many of them may suffer from poor living conditions as well different forms of abuse.

Another fascinating experience reported on at WUF12 this year came from Nepal and the young female politician Sunita Dangol, aged 29, who is deputy mayor of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. In her talk, Dangol referred to the idea that “women and tolerance are synonyms” and not necessarily in a positive way. She said that “women tolerate violence to keep peace and preserve the family; they tolerate sexual harassment and do not report it to keep the honour of family.”

What prevents women from speaking up are illiteracy and the expense of legal help, Dangol said. As deputy mayor, she had found help for them by offering them access to education and providing free legal services. Over the last year, such services were provided to 55,000 people in Nepal, the majority of them women. This had made access to justice accessible, equal, and affordable and helped to make sure that no woman is left behind.

Today, we are living in a golden age for women and youth in Egypt. Women have access to an unprecedented number of senior positions that were often denied to them in the past. However, we still need to work on certain cultural and social habits and norms that remain obstacles towards achieving the true empowerment of women.

In order for this to take place, there needs to be a change in mindsets, which can be brought about through awareness campaigns. We should also consider adopting and learning from the experiences of societies similar to ours. Women deserve to be able to live and work safely in any environment. We need to recognise and appreciate their constant work and care, which are still too often unpaid.

There is #NoExcuse for violence against women and girls.  

There is #NoExcuse for femicide.  

There is #NoExcuse for silence and inaction.

The writer is a university professor and a member of the Egyptian Senate.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 28 November, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly