Statement
August 13, 2026
The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA) condemns the ongoing restrictions imposed on the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Affairs (CEWLA)—an Egyptian women’s legal organization and member of the Regional Coalition forWomen Human Rights Defenders— which has provided a variety of services to women in both the private and public spheres for more than 25 years—including, but not limited to, legal, psychological, and social services; counseling; legal mediation regarding personal status laws; and the drafting of policy papers and numerous legal proposals related to violence against women and girls and human trafficking — through the rejection of five of its projects by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, in addition to the suspension of approval for two other projects, which made it impossible to proceed with them due to the expiration of the deadline for their implementation, which led to a reduction in the organization’s resources and left its team severely exhausted and burned out as a result of relying on their own resources and volunteering to work at full capacity for an extended period despite limited resources. This caused professional burnout among the team, leading to the decision to suspend operations for one month, and it will resume operations on September 1, 2026.
It is worth noting that the organization and its team frequently relied on their own resources and volunteered their time to ensure the continued provision of services to women, as well as the continuation of training workshops, seminars, and advocacy work at the local, regional, and international levels. As stated in the Center’s two press releases issued on July 7 and 31, 2026, “(On Monday), July 6, 2026, the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Affairs (CEWLA) received notification of the rejection of the appeal it had filed regarding the decision to deny approval for the project ‘It Is My Right to Be Protected,’ without any explanation of the reasons for the rejection of the appeal. On the same day, it also received a decision rejecting approval of the project ‘Strengthening the Capacity of the Bahariya Oasis Community to Combat Child Marriage and Prevent Early Marriage.’” This brings the total number of projects the center has been unable to implement over the past two years to seven; five of these were rejected, while two others lost their funding due to the prolonged duration of the approval process, despite the center having fulfilled all legal and administrative procedures and requirements.” (1)
The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders wonders: In whose interest do these restrictions and arbitrary practices against the Center serve? They certainly do not serve the interests of the thousands of women who turn to the center for services, nor do they serve the community dialogue to which the center contributes significantly regarding the amendment of draft personal status laws—whether for Muslim or Christian women—and its draft laws on combating human trafficking and protecting witnesses and whistleblowers, as well as other human rights, feminist, and development-oriented efforts and initiatives undertaken by the center. Do these rejection decisions serve as a punishment specifically targeting the organization for its work in proposing alternative draft personal status laws that do not align with the patriarchal and male-dominated vision of the Egyptian parliament or government? Or are they part of a broader crackdown on civil society’s civic space? Or both?
Accordingly, the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA) calls on the Egyptian government, and in particular the Ministry of Social Solidarity, to cease its crackdown on the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Affairs (CEWLA), to issue approvals for its projects, to refrain from delaying the issuance of approvals, and to grant such approvals within sixty days in accordance with the Egyptian Associations Law.
The Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Affairs (CEWLA) is a key partner in the advancement of women’s rights and gender equality in Egyptian society and in shaping the discourse on these issues; disrupting its work would be a grave loss for Egyptian society and for the thousands of Egyptian women who suffer various forms and patterns of violence against them in both the private and public spheres.
