Etijah utilizes Sports as a tool for fostering a culture of inclusion and participation for young people in Egypt, especially women in local remote disadvantaged communities in order to realize a long-lasting and fulfilling experience for youth and their surrounding communities, while addressing existing societal stereotypes. During the 2021 and 2022, Etijah has implemented 338 sports sessions and camps serving more than 10,173 beneficiaries.
Sports is a powerful advocacy and inclusion mechanism where it can be used to advocate for developmental themes with governmental stakeholders, private sector and other community organizations. For instance, Etijah utilizes sports every year as the vehicle for the 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. Etijah utilizes certain types of inclusive sports to engage youth and local communities around the project theme. Etijah employs “Sportsmanship” as a methodology to tackle the lack of understanding on the themes of gender equality, active participation and inclusion of PwDs.
Etijah has an existing established partnership with MoYS in youth centers through establishing Population Awareness Clubs (PACs) in more than 100 YCs around Egypt. PACs serve as decentralized centers for disseminating awareness on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), and family planning among youth from both genders. In addition, PACs raised awareness on major population issues such as: education, youth and gender-based violence, and offered a space for planning and executing initiatives addressing problems faced by the local communities, as well as some counseling services to be considered a knowledge-oriented center for the local inhabitants. This extensive experience facilitates an easier way of managing implementation with the targeted A&Y.
Sports provide a space for interaction and a platform in both Youth and Education Programs where Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) participate actively in the program. Sports also suffer from a marked gender gap as girls and women in Egypt participate less in sports than boys and men. Socio-cultural barriers such as the perception in Egypt about women’s sports and physical activities is shrouded in hindering gender norms and negative stereotypes prevail throughout Egypt. Access barriers include the lack of availability and accessibility to safe and affordable sports facilities for girls and women.