The annual 16-day campaign starts on the International Day to End Violence against Women on 25 November and ends in conjunction with International Human Rights Day on 10 December.

“We always and forever support the women of Egypt as they are heroic and persevering fighters. Women are the cornerstone of family development and the stability of Egyptian society,” Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj said.

The 16-day campaign is an awareness programme that aims to create a cultural and social climate that values women and calls for employing their energies for the best interests of themselves, their families, their society and the nation, according to the ministry’s statement.

El-Qabbaj added that since violence against women has multiple faces, the campaign covers a number of issues, including female genital mutilation, early marriage, human trafficking, economic exploitation of women, and violence against elderly women.

It will also cover the issue of depriving young girls of their right to education and health as well as trafficking of women by forcing them into “advantageous marriages.”

According to the statement, the ministry provides services to more than 60 percent of these groups under the umbrella of care, social protection, and economic empowerment programmes for women.

According to the National Council for Women’s (NCW) executive summary report on the 2015-2020 strategy to end violence against women, more than 5.6 million women suffer from violence at the hands of their husbands or fiancés annually in Egypt.

The summary report also found that 2.4 million women suffer one or more types of injuries as a result of violence at the hands of their partners and that one million women leave their marital homes as a result of violence at the hands of their husbands.