Why Moushira Khattab would have been the best choice to lead UNESCO

I’ve built my professional career in intellectual property in the Cairo-based firm established by my father Chehata Haroun, a lawyer, intellectual, leftist politician and one of the thousands of Egyptian Jews who once formed a vibrant and rich community in Egypt. As a young woman I witnessed this community shrink as friends, family and community members were driven out of the country amidst mounting prejudice peaking in 1967 after the Six-day War with Israel. Despite the hardships and his imprisonment, my father’s pride in being an Egyptian Jew cemented his commitment to spending the rest of his life in his beloved homeland and raising his two daughters as proud Egyptian Jews.

While I was always active in the dwindling Jewish Community in Cairo, I was focused on my career and didn’t imagine myself becoming its head or being involved in cultural heritage. However, the inevitable happened in 2013 and my late sister Nadia and I had to assume responsibility of the community. Today, the Jewish Community in Cairo comprises just six Jews, including myself. The day I was elected as head also marked the beginning of my responsibility to preserve Cairo’s rich Jewish cultural heritage comprising synagogues, Torah scrolls, artefacts, documents and archives.

In this capacity, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Moushira Khattab, Egypt’s candidate for UNESCO Director-General, when she attended one of our events at the Shaar Hashamyaim “Gates of Heaven” synagogue in Cairo before her candidacy to the position. I was impressed—but not surprised—by her genuine commitment to our cause to protect Egypt’s Jewish heritage and the great support she gave myself and the team. Her track record as an accomplished career diplomat and defender of women’s and children’s rights speaks for itself. Among her many achievements are criminalizing female genital mutilation and raising the age of marriage for girls in Egypt to 18. She is a courageous woman who has the talent of successfully taking on challenging causes, so I was not surprised to see her embracing our cause so wholeheartedly.

Moushira Khattab

At the forefront of the challenges we collectivity face as humanity today are extremism and terrorism, byproducts of extreme prejudice and hatred. As an Arab Jew, these are unfortunately quite familiar to me but so is the importance of moving forward through tolerance and understanding. At a time when a group like Daesh has been using extreme violence to promote its agenda of hatred and death, we can all take a stand through education and culture. They want to turn back the clock, let’s move forward while still appreciating our rich and diversified cultural heritage. They want to hold back Muslim Arab women, let’s give them more global leadership positions and shine light on their capabilities and achievements. They hate monuments and destroy them, let’s work together to preserve and promote them. The election of an Arab African Muslim woman as a UNESCO Director General would have been the strongest message that could have been sent.

Dr. Khattab embodies the values a UNESCO Director General should have: leadership qualities, a track record of achievement, an appreciation for diversity and a commitment to making a positive impact. I am proud of her for embarking on the challenge of election to this position and for being a role model for millions of girls from our part of the world.

Magda Haroun is Head of the Jewish Community in Cairo.