Mrs. Mubarak inaugurates Luxor projects including public library, hospital
A library, a cultural centre and a hospital are all new projects Mrs Suzanne Mubarak inaugurated Saturday in Luxor.
Obviously, the Upper Egyptian city is starting to get the attention it deserves, being the capital of the greatest civilisation in man's history.
The airport has been rehabilitated as well. In fact, Mrs Mubarak began her seven-hour tour at Luxor airport.
Accompanying Mrs Mubarak was Minister of Civil Aviation Ahmed Shafiq who spoke of renovation work at the airport.
For her, the Mubarak Public Library is truly something to see. The library has an Egyptology department - the first of its kind in Egypt - as well as a language and a computer lab.
The Egyptology section is made up of two rooms: one containing more than 20,000 relevant books and the other for maps.
"It is an edifice of knowledge that completes the whole upgrading system", said Mrs Mubarak about the library.
Addressing leading women in the southern valley, Mrs Mubarak talked about efforts exerted to reduce poverty and achieve economic empowerment for women.
Illiteracy of women was one of the problems, Mrs Mubarak was adamant to solve.
But the situation has much improved since then, with more women now receiving a greater share of education.
Health care is yet another accomplishment, she told women in the room, not forgetting to reflect on the drastic change in their political participation.
I'm happy to see how things have turned out for us and I'm all hopes for the future," she said.
Mrs Mubarak said that the success of Egyptian women was the result of cooperation between the state and the National Council for Women (NCW). The NCW has played a greater role in placing women's issues among national priorities, she added.
She also hailed efforts by the NCW to enhance women's political participation.
The number of women enrolled in election lists has soared to hit 40 percent in Luxor, Qena, Aswan and Sohag, she added.
Mrs Mubarak urged Upper Egyptian women to come in droves to cast their ballots in the Shura Council Mid-term elections.
She stressed that constitutional amendments aimed at guaranteeing a greater representation of women in the People's Assembly and Shura Council.
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