Company: Speak Up, Giza, Egypt
Company Description: Speak up is an Egyptian feminist initiative to support victims of gender-based violence in all its forms, aiming toward a safe community where women are empowered to speak up for themselves and not be shamed by their societies through: Pro bono legal and psychological solidarity, campaigns against harassers and rapists, awareness campaigns, and pushing for legislations reforms.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Social Change Maker of the Year - Gender
 Nomination Title: Gehad Hamdy
- Outline the nominee's achievements since July 1 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
The initiative was launched in July, 2020.
During this period, Gehad's impact and commitment was epitomized in the famous campaign against the child rapist, Michael Fahmy, an influential church figure who exploited his close relationship with the church and the pope to gain children's confidence and sexually violate them. She launched the campaign in 2020, and continued for a year, fiercely pressuring authorities into investigating the case. She showed remarkable relentlessness in fighting for this cause, gathering a legal team and working non-stop, until it became a viral social media trend in Egypt and an order for Michael's arrest was issued. Her campaigning did not rest until he was tried for serious charges including child rape and kidnapping, concluding in a life sentence. Speak Up worked on more than 400 cases that ended up bringing justice to victims, and provided, through a vast network of connections, free legal and psychological assistance to over 14,000 victims by connecting them to volunteering professionals. After a viral campaign by Speak Up advocating for amendments in the Egyptian law that criminalized Female Genital Mutilation, the suggested amendments were adopted and the law was activated in March 2021. They have collected over 15,000 sexual harassment testimonies, and 20,000 testimonies of domestic violence, marital rape, bullying, virginity tests, female genital mutilation (FGM), violent obligation on religious rituals, and medical bias against women. A viral campaign by Speak Up led to provision of free sanitary pads in more than 80 schools and 11 cafes.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 143 words used.
As supporting documents, I have added the following files:
- A list of awards and finalist nominations for Gehad Hamdy. This shows her outstanding work and how many notable entities have recognized and awarded her impact.
- International media coverage of Speak Up and/or Gehad Hamdy. This shows the notability of her work and the recognition of international media for its importance.
- [REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
- A full presentation of the Speak Up initiative given at the World Justice Forum where the initiative was a finalist. This presents a professional collection of the initiative and its vision, objectives, activities, and impact.
- Briefly describe the nominated individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 196 words used.
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION] In 2020, after a huge rise in sexual harassment numbers in Egypt, Gehad started Speak Up initiative against sexual harassment. The movement gained immense momentum, its followers increasing exponentially with each passing day; it has filled a much-needed gap for women in Egyptian society. Speak up is an Egyptian feminist initiative to support victims of gender-based violence in all its forms, aiming toward a safe community where women are empowered to speak up for themselves and not be shamed by their societies through:
-Pro bono legal and psychological solidarity needed for violence victims.
-Campaigns against harassers and rapists calling for their arrest and accountability.
-Spreading awareness and information accessibility.
-Pushing the lawmakers into issuing and reforming legislations concerning women.
Girls of all backgrounds have found refuge in the Speak Up community for perpetrators’ exposure, legal guidance, and psychological support, and the number of women speaking up and calling out their harassers, despite the threats facing any woman who does so in Egypt, has unbelievably surged after Speak Up.
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the achievements since July 1, 2020 of the nominated woman, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions for this category, provide them in the spaces below:
- Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the nominee's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 248 words used.
Gehad has faced continuous threats since she started her initiative, without any material benefits as the majority of organizations reap. The amount of sacrifice she makes for her cause is what sets her apart most. Gehad's social media messages are a torrent of verbal threats of murder and rape, with Islamist fanatics launching non-stop campaigns to shut down Speak Up, terrorizing all its supporters, most of all its founder Gehad. This year, they leaked her identity and personal information. Gehad has moved houses, changed numbers and sought several cybersecurity organizations to assist her to protect herself from the vicious -and extremely dangerous- attacks of extremists, which have not ceased until today.
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
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