Refuges for battered women

When Faten found that her abusive husband had evicted her from her house right after their divorce, she started looking for a safe place for her and her two daughters.

Faten is a fictional character in the series Faten Amal Harby, which is being screened during the holy month of Ramadan. Yet the series is another instance of art imitating real life.

Fortunately, Faten finds safety for herself and her young daughter in a refuge for battered women.

The refuge is no fiction; it is a real place set up by the Ministry of Social Solidarity for supporting and counselling battered women with the aim of protecting women from all forms of violence and help them reintegrate into the family and society.

“The Ministry of Social Solidarity has nine refuges: two in Cairo and one in each of the governorates of Alexandria, Beni Suef, Dakahlia, Fayoum, Giza, Minya and Qalyoubia,” said Jacqueline Mamdouh Mohamed, Head of Women Affairs department at the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Four more will open by June in Damietta, Kafr el-Sheikh, Port Said and, Sohag, she added, noting that the refuges also provide food, clothing, medical help and legal assistance.

“Women who experience violence should call the hotline (16439) which puts them through to the nearest centre. We do not give out the addresses of the refuges for obvious reasons,” Mohamed added.

“Some associations and civil institutions and the National Council for Women may refer victims of abuse to the centres,” she said.

In 2021, nearly 4,700 cases of abused women and their children were received at the centres.

“The centres provide a temporary safe place for women, in which we provide support, help them obtain documents and find jobs,” she said.

The centres accept Egyptians and foreigners over 18 years old who have been battered or exposed to violence.