The Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development center (ACT) launched an interactive digital map on Monday charting Egypt’s modern feminist movement, in a bid to coordinate efforts and share expertise among feminist organizations and initiatives to empower human trafficking survivors, youth, and feminist activists.
The platform serves as a nationwide directory of 80 feminist organizations and initiatives operating across 12 governorates—including 35 registered NGOs—allowing users to search for groups by location, legal status and areas of expertise, from legal aid and psychological support to economic empowerment and research.
The initiative comes at a time when feminist organizations are facing unprecedented pressure, including “relentless” smear campaigns that portray activists as agents of foreign interests and seek to discredit their work, ACT Board Chair Azza Kamel said.
Azza Kamel speaks on the scope of work of feminist organizations included in the map, July 27, 2026.“We are witnessing a major rollback of women’s rights, despite all the gains achieved over past years,” Kamel added. “Anyone who defends women’s rights now faces suspicion and accusation, even though all these associations operate under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the Civil Work Law.”
Kamel attributed the hostility to the continued influence of Salafi patriarchal discourse within certain official institutions, backed by broad online incitement campaigns and media coverage that perpetuates attacks on female human rights defenders.
On the new platform, users can search organizations by legal status—including registered NGOs, youth initiatives and independent groups—or by specialization, such as legal assistance, psychological support, socio-economic empowerment, research, and arts and cultural initiatives focused on combating gender-based violence.
Kamel hopes the map will foster communication and facilitate joint action to counter these attacks. “This is a challenge for all of us: to say we exist, we work, and we are here through coordination and continued effort,” she explained. “Solidarity and work are what will protect any feminist movement.”
Entesar El-Saeed, attorney before the Court of Cassation and chair of the board of trustees of the Cairo Foundation for Development and Law, praised the map as a critical tool for streamlining fieldwork. She said the map could help overcome one of the biggest obstacles facing women's rights organizations: finding reliable local partners beyond the movement's traditional strongholds in Cairo, Alexandria, Assiut and Aswan.
ACT, founded in 1990, said the platform is intended to help survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence quickly locate nearby support services while enabling feminist organizations to coordinate more effectively.
The launch comes as rights groups warn that Egypt's civic space has continued to narrow, with feminist organizations increasingly facing online harassment and public campaigns aimed at undermining their work.
