On the road: Soheir Abbas

A MODEST new road running along the railway tracks and then crossing into a small village enables fire engines and ambulances to directly access Al-Shadida, 20 minutes from the Upper Egyptian governorate of Aswan. This road exists because of the untiring efforts of one woman: Soheir Abbas. Before the construction of this path, it was impossible for any car to enter Al- Shadida. Abbas recalls there was no way to get to our village unless you walk through the neighbouring town. The danger of the situation was evident in 1999, when there was a big fire at Al-Shadida and the fire engines could not get through the village and had to pass the water hose under the railway lines. Such water hoses often exploded, the water did not reach the fire on time, and heavy damage was caused. Trying to avoid any such future crises, I took the initiative and campaigned for laying out a small road. It took six months because there was not enough money in the local government to cover the costs and I had to fund-raise. Mobilising support from the sheikh of the local mosque and other influential people in her village, she was able to collect the money needed for the road. Abbas, 39, lives in Al-Shadida with her parents. Even as a teenager, other families felt completely safe if their girls went out with her, since Abbas was known for her quick thinking and resourcefulness.

The trust bestowed upon Abbas by her peers and elders encouraged her to enter the field of social work. Peoples attitudes gave me confidence in myself and in other people. This gave me encouragement to step out and help my people anyway I could, remembered Abbas. In a community where custom dictated strict limits to a womans mobility and freedom, women were often permitted to work but not allowed to go out of the home after sunset, let alone mingle with men. Abbas was the first girl who dared overtly challenge such social restrictions. At the fire station outside the hamlet of Al-Shadida, the assigned firefighters often asked Abbas a graduate of the technical and commercial institute to write memos and letters for them. Wanting to help them read and write, Abbas contacted the General Organisation for Adult Learning.

Abbas was the first woman to teach a literacy class for men, making the daily commute to the nearby village of Al-Molkata from 1993 to 1997. Her determination to combat illiteracy seemed to know few bounds, and when the firefighters superiors complained that they were not staying at their positions during the time of the literacy classes, Abbas compromised, taking her blackboard and teaching them under a tree in front of the fire station.

During the nineties, Abbas and her female colleagues volunteered at the Azhar Institute for two years, as administrative personnel as well as primary stage teachers. Afterwards, they volunteered as community representatives for a project undertaken by the Womanhood and Childhood Organisation. Each of the women was responsible for reporting needs and problems of 30 houses, then helping to implement solutions. Abbas was among the first four women who joined the Comprehensive Development and Integrated Care Association in a village. Together they formed the first womens committee at the association.After becoming a field health specialist at the Aswan Health Unit in 1995, her experience enabled Abbas to develop a health awareness programme among women in the Al- Shadida hamlet. She used her job to provide mobile clinics to women and organise several health awareness seminars. She also started an environmental awareness project, helping to plant 100 trees in Al-Shadida. Also through the Al-Shadida Association Abbas facilitated a programme that taught women both sanitary garbage disposal methods and the importance of exercising their right to vote. I started with 30 women. They had no identification cards; all they had was their birth certificates.

First we went to the police stations to get their identification cards. Then we insured that they would apply for the voting cards during their specified times and so were all were registered as voters. It is considered improper for a woman in these parts to enter a police station, but we managed.Getting further involved politically, she ran for local council elections on the ruling National Democratic Party ticket. Despite being the sole female among 44 candidates, Abbas won the election, becoming the representative for Al-Shadida village of Abu Al-Reish Bahari district for 1997-2000.To Abbas, politics is a means to address complex social issues and try to work out feasible solutions for them. Emphasising the importance of political involvement, Abbas stresses Social work is the essence of our society, and in the future our whole life will depend on it.