Comprehensive Sexuality Education

The Arab Republic of Egypt is situated in the north-east part of Africa and is the third-largest economy on the continent. About half of the population in Egypt is under the age of 25. Almost all children attend primary and lower secondary school. One out of twenty adolescent girls will experience an early and unintended pregnancy. About half of all women use contraceptives. Although female genital mutilation (FGM) is legally prohibited, about seven out of ten girls have been subjected to the practice. In the past few decades, Egypt has improved significantly in the provision of women’s health care. The percentage of medically assisted births has tripled and the maternal mortality ratio has decreased to one-third of its previous rate. 

In the past few decades, HIV rates in Egypt have increased significantly. While most of the affected population are men, cases among women and children have also risen. On the positive side, HIV awareness has increased, with seven out of ten people being aware of their HIV status.  

Surveys at the national and subnational levels have shown that young Egyptians lack basic information on sexual reproductive health (SRH) topics and often receive information from sources that may be misleading or inaccurate. The Population Council in Cairo conducted a survey in 2009 that schools do little to provide SRH information. Information on SRH and SRH rights that is available to youth outside of school may not be necessarily accurate or helpful. Reproductive health topics were first introduced as part of the health education curriculum in 1994. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA), Egyptian Family Planning Association (EFPA), and Egyptian Family Health Society (EFHS), have attempted to fill the gap, responding to adolescents’ need for SRH knowledge through community-based programmes or by offering school-based or extracurricular activities in addition to the regular school curriculum 

In 2022, the Ministry of Education received a government mandate to integrate the concepts of sexuality education into the primary and secondary school curricula. Topics also include sexual harassment and physical violence. The mandate includes the responsibility to teach students about ‘abnormal and deviant behaviours, specifically the promotion of homosexuality,’ and to teach students to ‘reject’ homosexuality.

The 2014 Constitution of the Arab Republic of Egypt (amended in 2019), confers on every citizen the right to education, which includes the values of tolerance and non-discrimination. The state is obliged to provide compulsory education up to the end of secondary education. Every citizen is also entitled to health and to comprehensive health care. It is the responsibility of the state to establish a comprehensive health care system for all Egyptians that includes care for all diseases and conditions. The constitution also calls for the attainment of equality between women and men in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural spheres. Protections are also guaranteed for motherhood and childhood. Women are to be protected against all forms of violence.  

The Strategic Plan for Pre-University Education 2014-2030 states that ‘society should also provide for all learners what they need from school feeding, health care, and physical and moral support to enable them to participate effectively and benefit from their learning as well as benefiting others.’ 

The 1981 Education Law number 139 defines the structure of pre-university education, and states that pre-university education should ‘train the learner culturally, scientifically and nationally at successive levels, in terms of emotional, national, mental, social, health, behavioral and athletic aspects.’ 

Egypt’s 2015-2030 National Population Strategy aims to improve the quality of life of citizens by improving family planning and reproductive health services, increasing the use of contraception, and prioritizing family planning and reproductive health programmes. A key pillar of the strategy is youth and adolescent health, with young people are to be able to access information and services in the field of reproductive health and the development of youth-friendly legislation. The EU Support to Egypt’s National Population Strategy project, with the support of the EU and UNFPA, helped to train service providers to tailor and improve service provision to young people. A community engagement plan was developed and then launched in 2022 to address and resolve the challenges young people in Egypt face in accessing reproductive health services and information. 

Proposed policies in the 2018-2030 Strategic Framework and National Plan for Childhood and Motherhood in the Arab Republic of Egypt cover the provision of health services for adolescents and training teachers to include content related to childhood and adolescent reproductive health. The framework and plan recognize that lack of information and knowledge on SRH puts adolescents at risk of dangerous behaviour and unhealthy lifestyles. 

The sixth pillar of Egypt’s Vision 2030 focuses on health: ‘All Egyptians enjoy a healthy, safe, and secure life through an integrated, accessible, high quality, and universal healthcare system capable of improving health conditions through early intervention, and preventive coverage.’

In Grade 3, the curriculum briefly covers food groups and hygiene. As students progress, Grade 4 covers the digestive and respiratory systems, Grade 5 focuses on the urinary and cardiovascular systems, and Grade 6 explores the locomotive and neurological systems. 

When students reach Grade 8, the second year of preparatory school, the science syllabus includes a more detailed explanation of the male and female genital systems, together with a brief mention of reproduction. The focus is mainly on genital diseases such as puerperal sepsis (genital infection after delivery) and syphilis. Teachers may choose to teach this lesson in class or assign it as reading material for students to review at home or discuss with their parents. In-class discussions are often conducted with constraints that do not allow for questions or laughter. The topic of reproductive health briefly resurfaces in Grade 12 biology, during the final year of secondary school. However, family planning and the impact of population growth in Egypt are only mentioned in the religious studies syllabus of grades 9 and 12. 

In 2018, Education 2.0, the new curriculum framework, was improved and started being mainstreamed into public schools. The framework integrates 12 core life skills identified by the Life Skills and Citizenship Education (LSCE) Framework initiative, implemented with the support of the UNICEF MENA Regional Office. 

Other projects include a Partnership Strategic Intervention (PSI) signed in August 2021 between the Ministry of Education and Technical Education and UNFPA. The project sought to integrate comprehensive population education into the educational system, with the aim of raising awareness of population issues. There is also a Y-PEER, network which trains youth to educate their peers on various topics including sexuality education. 

In 2022, based on a recommendation from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education received a government mandate to integrate the concepts of sexuality education, sexual harassment, and physical violence into the curricula where appropriate. The formal mandate highlighted the need to implement awareness programmes in basic education schools and secondary schools (both general and technical), with the participation of ‘the health visitor, the psychologist, the social worker, and the religious education teacher.’ In addition to students learning about their bodies, the mandate includes the need to confront ‘abnormal and deviant behaviours, specifically the promotion of homosexuality,’ and calls on students to ‘reject’ homosexuals.

The Ministry of Education and Technical Education has an e-learning page with resources for each grade level and class. However, resources discussing sexuality education were not found.  

Outside the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, there are various online programmes and resources that young people are able to access. For example, Love Matters Arabic is a regional network based in Egypt, operated by the Centre for Development Services. Love Matters is an online platform for young people to have ‘constructive discussion about matters of love, relationships, sex and marriage.’ It is curriculum-based, age-appropriate and culturally contextualized.  

Ma3looma is a website and social media platform project that was established in 2012 and funded by UNFPA. Ma3looma provides comprehensive SRH information to youth and young people in Arabic-speaking countries, offering a safe space for peer discussions and information sharing.

Teacher preparedness and capacity building: No information was found. 

Whether teachers are mandated to be trained on provision/delivery of sexuality education either as part of PRESET or INSET: The 2018-2030 Strategic Framework and National Plan for Childhood and Motherhood in the Arab Republic of Egypt includes one proposed policy action regarding training teachers to teach information about childhood issues and adolescent reproductive health. However, no further details were found.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education collaborate around youth issues in Egypt.  

The Ministry of Health and Population) provides a range of family planning methods and services. 

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) include the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA), the Population Council, and the Egyptian Family Planning Association (EFPA).  In order to work in and with schools, NGOs need permission from the Ministry of Education and Technical Education. Some NGOs have permission to provide SRH education in schools in certain governorates, mainly as part of community programmes and involving a limited number of young people. From 2008 to 2015, the Egyptian Family Health Society (EFHS) implemented SRH education projects in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, providing SRH and life-skills education in preparatory and secondary schools in 22 governorates. The Egyptian Family Health Society has partnered with the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity  for administrative supervision and the Ministry of Health and Population for technical supervision.