In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Ladies and gentlemen… honorable guests..

The honorable Egyptian people… the great women of Egypt..

I would like in the beginning to ask you to stand in appreciation and respect of the Egyptian woman; the mother and wife and the sister and daughter who sacrificed her martyred son, husband and brother so that we live and so that our nation would live for ever.

Ladies and gentlemen..

I would like to confirm my pleasure and pride for standing before you today addressing the great Egyptian woman; the voice of the nation and the protector of the conscience of the homeland. My pleasure is mixed with immense pride when I see with you today these honorable examples and icons of the Egyptian woman in several domains and sectors. This confirms that we are a nation of steadfastness and determination. I can see this strong will in the eyes of the faithful Egyptian woman who has always been throughout history a unique case of special nature as she contains inside her simple nature great details such as flowing tenderness that is mingled with strong will that made her an epitome of the national and humanitarian action.

Ladies and gentlemen..

The Egyptian woman throughout history has been an eyewitness and maker of the glory of this great nation. I would not be exaggerating if I would say that the major part of the greatness of this nation has been derived from the marvelous Egyptian woman as a tender mother and loyal wife and good sister and a daughter who spreads happiness and pleasure everywhere. Therefore, women have always been the most important figure in the national equation and the brightest color in the marvelous picture of the Egyptian nation.

The Egyptian woman has played a remarkable role in the Egyptian society since our ancestors started building the human civilization. Over ages, the Egyptian woman has been the supportive wife in agriculture and building and a safe haven for her husband in times of crises. She has always been a good teacher for her sons and a grandmother that teaches her grandsons wisdom. She has always been a productive working woman who contributes to pushing up the national economy and achieving the desired growth. It is good luck to celebrate together in this hall several occasions pertaining to women in March every year. We celebrate with the world on March 8^th the Women's Day which coincides with holding the first conference of the Women's International Democratic Federation. The Egyptians in all pride and dignity celebrate on March 16 the Egyptian Women's Day marking the Egyptian woman's struggle for independence when several women were martyred in 1919 by the bullets of the occupation soldiers in a protest that was led by national leader Hoda Shaarawy. Also, the Egyptian Women Federation was set up on March 16, 1923 and on the same day in 1956 the Egyptian woman obtained the franchise to vote and run in elections and to fully practice her political rights. We also celebrate on March 21 the feast of tenderness, clemency and sacrifice on the Mothers Day in honor of the mother who supported her husband and spent nights caring for her children and then sacrificed them as martyrs of our nation.

Ladies and gentlemen..

Honorable guests.. the great Egyptian people..

We are required, while we are building the new Egypt; Egypt the future; to review the past for getting lessons and wisdom. When we review our history we find out that women have always been an active partner in all situations of pride and dignity. Over the 7,000 years of the history of Egypt, the homeland has been deriving its humanitarian roots and its uniqueness from the distinguished Egyptian woman. The greatness of our nation was a real and realistic translation of the status and role of the Egyptian woman.

Since the outset of history on our good lands, the Egyptian woman has been on the vanguard of ranks. She wielded power and took the helm of the nation with wisdom and sincerity. More, the ancient Egyptians have honored her as they crowned Isis as the Goddess of Wisdom. The Egyptian woman in our modern age has carried the banner of renewal and enlightenment and led the ranks of national action.

We are not far away from her unprecedented role in Egyptian revolutions which called for freedom and human dignity when she rose up and stimulated the will of all Egyptians to square up for restoring our dear Egypt from the grip of radical groups who were trying to grab the homeland to spread their warped ideologies. The Egyptian woman gave the best example for her bravery and struggle when she insisted to go ahead in the face of the enemies of the nation. She was not daunted by their terrorism and violence. On the contrary, she sacrificed her dear husband, son and brother for this great homeland. She has always been patient and aware when she bore up well the effects of the recent economic measures. She proved to be a seasoned parliamentarian and a good judge and an honorable scientist. She worked in all domains of public work with an evident mettle and efficiency.

Ladies and gentlemen..

The national duty and responsibility before history require us to expedite empowering women and preserving their rights along with placing them in the appropriate status that is commensurate with their value, abilities and sacrifices throughout history in accordance with the constitution which reflects the will of the Egyptian people and establishes the values of justice and equality in line with the principle of equal opportunities and in accordance with the 2030 vision and its sustainable development strategy which is seeking to observe justice in the society for guaranteeing the rights and equal opportunities for all its sons and daughters. This is meant to achieve the highest degrees of social merging of all its segments out of faith of the Egyptian State that stability and progress will not be attained except through guaranteeing a viable partnership of women in all fields of national action. Within the framework of declaring 2017 the year of women; I have decided the following:

First: Assigning the government and all State agencies including the National Council for Women to consider the 2030 strategy for empowering women as the document of action for the coming years in an effort to activate plans and projects mentioned in this strategy.

Second: Assigning the Ministry of Social Solidarity, in coordination with all State agencies and institutions concerned, to launch a national initiative for micro projects that is financed by the Long Live Egypt Fund through Nasser Social Bank to economically empower the most-in-need segments and the breadwinner women. Up to 250 million pounds were allocated for that initiative.

Third: Assigning the Ministry of Social Solidarity to support the breadwinner women and the most needy families through soft loan programs to be extended by Nasser Social Bank at a value of 50 million pounds to make the daily life easy for women and families in the most-in-need villages.

Fourth: Assigning the government to allocate 250 million pounds so that the Ministry of Social Solidarity would provide early-childhood services for allowing the Egyptian woman to go to work and contribute to building the State while expanding the programs of school nutrition programs.

The great Egyptian women and young women..

What we are seeking to extend is some little thing compared to what the Egyptian woman would deserve as she devoted herself to the nation. Therefore no honoring or appreciation will be up to that devotion. We are only seeking to show our gratitude and recognition of her value and ability.

I ask her to be always in the vanguard as without women this nation will have no conscience and this homeland will have no future. Egypt is badly in need of the woman as a leader of national action and in the vanguard of the nation as a tender mother, supportive wife, dear sister and good daughter who is preserving the fabric of the Egyptian family against falling apart. Egypt is in need of her as a productive working woman that is carving out the future which is deriving its strength from the glory of the past. The Egyptian woman is the hope of the new Egypt. The great Egypt will only long live through the Egyptian woman and her strong will.

Long Live Egypt.. Long Live Egypt..Long Live Egypt

Thank you