Cairo, Egypt. The health project Rahma of the Egyptian initiative Sekem empowers women to take care of their own health.
When a woman entered the Eurythmy therapy room, I gently asked her to remove her hijab or niqab, and she took deep breaths. Then she began to move, softly forming the sounds L and M, letting out a long sigh. Again and again, I witnessed what women carry on their backs, shoulders, and hearts. Pain, tears, and stories would unfold. I began asking a simple question: How can we create more space for women’s self-care and fill it with joy and hope?
From this, the Women’s Health Project at SEKEM was born, a preventive, awareness-based program focused on women’s reproductive health and well-being. We selected twelve women from the villages around SEKEM and offered them training to be health coaches. We explored the menstrual cycle through eurythmy, visualizing how the womb wall builds and sheds. We studied female and male reproductive anatomy, and for all of them, it was their first time learning about it. We painted in shades of red, opening the door to speak about menstrual myths and taboos, still often seen as impure or shameful. We discussed how to introduce periods to our daughters in a loving, empowering way. And we wrote letters to our wombs. We also opened conversations about female genital mutilation, early marriage, and domestic violence, painful but necessary topics.
Together, our questions deepened: How can we shape a more compassionate future for our daughters? The Arabic word for “womb,” Rahm, shares its root with Rahma, meaning “compassionate,” as found in the opening lines of the Islamic prayer: Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim. This became the inspiration for our project’s name: “Rahma—Compassionate Women’s Health Project.” Now, these twelve women are creating healing spaces across their villages. Each one is forming a circle of twenty-four women; together, we will reach and support 288 women in the villages. By sharing what they’ve learned, they are spreading healing, empowerment, and hope—one woman, one story, one community at a time.
Photo Anna Schoemaker
