MEGASTARS

Mother Suzanne and
Egyptian Dreams

By Essam Farag


H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak 
(born in Menya upper Egypt)


President Hosni Mubarak 
(born in Monofia lower Egypt)

In the megastars section of the Ambassadors, we have profiled some of the most prominent scientists, artists and philanthropists in the world. In keeping with this tradition, the Ambassadors editorial board unanimously selected the First Lady of Egypt, HE Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, as the first woman MEGASTAR. She was selected for her commitment to the betterment of the human condition in her country and around the world. 

H.E. Mrs. Mubarak earned her BA and MA degrees from the American University in Cairo (AUC). She also earned two honorary doctoral degrees from her alma mater AUC and Westminister College. Mrs. Mubarak is known for spearheading efforts to improve the status of women worldwide. H.E. Prof. Ismail Sallam, minister of health & population said that "the support of H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak is one of the important causes for the success of the Egyptian Health Reform Model and did a lot to make the Egyptian dreams come true." Mrs. Mubarak has used the welfare of women in Ancient Egypt as a springboard for advocacy on contemporary women's issues today in Egypt and boeyond. In 1998, Prof. Zahi Hawass, the international Egyptologist, published his book Silent Images: Women in Pharaonic Egypt. He mentions, "I would like to thank H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak who first conceived the idea of a book about Women in Pharaonic Egypt to present to delegates at the United Nation's 4th World Conference on Women. I am greatly honored that she asked me to write it, and grateful for her encouragement, without which this book would never have been written." 

Mrs Mubarak stated in the Forward to Hawas' book, "when I first learned of the UN 4th World Conference on Women, I was most anxious that Egypt should participate. The history of Ancient Egypt is one of the earliest of mankind's journeys on this planet. To identify the role of women in Ancient Egypt is therefore fundamental to understanding the importance of the part they played in the development of today's society and the world as we know it. So I asked Dr. Zahi Hawaas to research the issue." This book details the stories of four ruling Ancient Egyptian Queens as part of contribution of women in their society: Queen Nitokerty (Dynasty VI), Queen Sobekneferu (Dynasty XII), Queen Hatshepsut (Dynasty XVIII), and Queen Twosret (Dynasty XIX).

The Egyptian First Lady explained that the "women of Ancient Egypt enjoyed a much more prominent position in society and far fewer restrictions than their counterparts in Ancient Greece or Rome. The independence and respect accorded to Egyptian women, predicated upon their legal equality with men, could serve as a model for today's feminist awakenings."

The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak summarized the Egyptian dreams saying, "Our path to advancement in the 21st century is through the health and education of a new generation." 

Mother Suzanne focused precisely on these issues as she organized colossal national campaigns on educational reform, healthcare reform, and family issues. In 1996, she initiated the unified law on children which defines all the rights that safeguard children in various stages of life. This document is not only limited to health and education, but is also a comprehensive bill of rights for all children, particularly those who are homeless, abused or exploited.

Mother Suzanne and Educational Reform

Egyptians consider Mrs. Mubarak as a mother who can help them achieve their dreams of conquering the social ailments of poverty, illiteracy and disease in addition to modernizing the country's systems in order to endure the advancements in the 21st century while preserving cultural values and traditions. She is a strong supporter of children's educational programs evident in her efforts in the establishment of many elementary schools and libraries across the country. This has been one of her main goals since she completed her Masters degree in sociology of education with the thesis topic entitled "Social Action Research in Urban Egypt: A case study of primary school upgrading in Bulaq." Her contribution helped support the distinguished pediatrician H.E. Prof. Hussein Kamel Bahaa Eldeen, minister of education, in making the dreams come true. Mrs Mubarak received the Honorary Fulbright Award (1992) and the International Book Award (1995) in recognition of her efforts in the field of child development, education, and her outstanding efforts to promote reading in Egypt through her vigorous campaign of "Reading for All" which was launched in June 1991. This campaign has stimulated a national movement focusing on young and adult readers and held annually in the summer vacation. One of the objectives of this campaign is opening a library in every Egyptian town and village.

"The Integrated Care Society"

In 1977, Mother Suzanne founded the Integrated Care Society (ICS), a non-profit organization with the main objective of providing social, cultural and health care to school children and helped to promote the participation of the private sector in the field of child development. The ICS has various types of activities including:

 

Mother Suzanne and Medical Reform

As the elected President of the Egyptian Red Crescent Society and of the Advisory Board to the National Council on Childhood and Motherhood, Mrs. Mubarak not only focused on educational issues, but was very much involved in health reforms. She sponsored immunizations against ten different illnesses organized by H.E. Prof. Sallam such as: diphtheria, German measles, hepatitis B, influenza, measles, mumps, poliomyelitis, TB, tetanus, and whooping cough. Other successful health campaigns include bilharziasis, blindness, leprosy, malaria and TB. " The Health for All Gold Medal," the highest distinction awarded by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been conferred upon her, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to improving the quality of life of the women and children of Egypt and her personal commitment to international efforts aimed at integrating health in development process.

 

Another interest of Mother Suzanne was directed to providing care to those of special needs. In 1989, she was given the Highest Award by the Rehabilitation International Center for her outstanding services and support to disabled children. Since then, she has been given support for organizing campaigns for those of special needs. She supported preventive campaigns against communicable and non-communicable disorders such as "Healthy mother and healthy child project," "Neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria project," and projects to prevent blindness. These projects were conducted in collaboration with international organizations including the UN, UNICEF, WHO, USAID and CIDA.

 


Regular visits of the Honorable President Hosni Mubarak and mother Suzanne to all the provinces helped in bringing about major infrastructural developments. The President has recently opened cancer medical centers in most Egyptian provinces as part of the goal to modernize health services and provide equitable care to all Egyptians from Alexandria to Aswan.
The Honorable Sheik Tantawy, H.E. Prof. Sallam, Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenuda and Prof. Hamdy El-Sayed supporting Mother Suzanne's campaign to eradicate blindness in Egypt.

Mother Suzanne and the Egyptian Family

In light of the international issues of population and family planning, Mother Suzanne has emphasized the use of a triad framework for dealing with such concerns. It incorporates care for the child, the family and the community not only with regards to health and education, but also economic and cultural reform. Mass education campaigns are her primary means to ensure local participation in development programs. Through her guidance and support, the minister of information, H.E. Mr. Safwat Al-Sherif, with H.E. Prof. Sallam organized many mass health educational programs on different issues including anti-smoking, family planning/birth control and against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Another health campaign focuses on promoting healthy diets for adults and children, to avoid iron deficiency anemia. 

As president of the Advisory Board to the National Council on Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), she succeeded to gather many Egyptian intellectuals to help in all the family-related projects to ensure the establishment of healthy children, families and community. Ambassador Moshira Khattab has devoted a lot of effort to this council.


       
Examples of educational publications on family planning and healthy diets


A NCCM publication with children's drawings of their dreams

Mother Suzanne's National, Regional and International Developmental Programs

As a mother and grandmother specialized in international development both in Egypt, the Arab World, Africa, and globally, she participated in many international conferences and committees working to alleviate poverty, illiteracy and illness. Some of them are:

Egyptian Dreams

As a combined honors student in international development studies and history in Canada, interested in studying the evolution of health services in emerging communities, I feel that the integrated Egyptian model which includes health, education and economic reforms is a promising one and the role of of its top advocate, Mother Suzanne in making these Egyptian dreams a reality, cannot be forgotten.

Essam Farag is completing his BA with a combined honors in international development and history. He is elected president of Dalhousie Arabic Society, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Email: efarag@is2.dal.ca

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