Supplementary Information on Egypt Presented to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

This submission is intended to supplement the combined 6th and 7th periodic report of the government of Egypt, which is scheduled to be reviewed by the CEDAW Committee during its 45th Session. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, based in Cairo, and the Center for Reproductive Rights, based in New York, are independent, non-governmental organizations that hope to further the work of the Committee by providing information concerning the rights protected in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This submission highlights areas of concern related to the status of reproductive and sexual health and rights of women and girls in Egypt.

Reproductive and sexual rights are fundamental to women’s health and social equality and an explicit part of the Committee’s mandate under the CEDAW. The commitment of States parties to respect, protect and fulfill these rights deserves serious attention.

We wish to bring to the Committee’s attention several areas of concern, including maternal mortality and morbidity, unsafe abortion, inadequate family planning services, deficient adolescent reproductive services and sexual violence against women.