Um Hashem lives in the Fayoum oasis south west of Cairo. When her husband got ill, the pressure to marry off their daughter mounted. Um Hassan felt that her daughter was too young and with the support of her neighbors and the friends she knew from the Arab Women Speak Out (AWSO) program she put forth the case to her husband.

This short film is one in a series of portraits of village women, designed to be shown to other women as a way of inspiring them to take make positive changes in their lives.

AWSO meetings are held in villages and traditional communities across Egypt and the rest of the Arab world. Women meet together and discuss a wide range of issues from health to setting up businesses and share their life experiences.

AWSO is a project of the John Hopkins Health Communication Partnership and is supported by USAID.
Source: Oliver Wilkins