ADEW was founded in Egypt in 1987. Its mission is to empower marginalized female heads of household (FHH) economically, socially and politically. It combines grassroots programs with advocacy, and promotes more gender-sensitive approaches to development and issues of public policy in Egypt and the MENA region.
ADEW's "Girls Dream" program targets 1,200 of the most marginalized adolescent girls living in the squatter areas of Cairo, Manshiet Nasser and Misr El Kadima. It aims to raise the girls' awareness and knowledge of their own legal rights and duties in society. ADEW helps the girls develop financial literacy skills as well as marketable employment or self-employment skills, according to their own interests and abilities. Further, ADEW wants to inform the girls about reproductive health and promote functional literacy and numeracy.
ADEW has recently added sport activities (basketball, fitness) within the Girls Dream program in a pilot with 100 girls, and is formulating a model for scale and replicability for empowering adolescent girls.
"In poor marginalized communities where we work, the societal culture is conservative, patriarchal and discriminative. Girls are expected to assist in house chores, serve their family members and look after the younger siblings. In addition, girls are rarely allowed out of the house, so they cannot join sport clubs or simply play on the streets. The Girls Dream initiative represents an opportunity for girls to vent, make friends, increase their self-esteem and increase their health and legal awareness. The classes introduce an array of life skills for girls which are the base of their empowerment."
- Islam Sharaf, ADEW