Egyptian Athlete Uses The Power of Sport to Empower Women in Under-Served Communities

In 2018, Jomana Ismail Attia Aly Attia set out on a 559-mile walk across Egypt, a 24-day feat that not only tested her endurance but reignited her sense of purpose. The event was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund in an effort to raise awareness around improving the country’s reproductive and maternal healthcare. With the original goal of shedding light on a worthy cause, Jomana’s endeavor opened up her eyes to the gender inequities afflicting the country.

Born and raised in Cairo, Jomana, like most of the girls in her community, led an active lifestyle and reaped the benefits that sports provide. She went on to become a professional gymnast, and credits the sport for shaping who she is today. However, until her marathon trek, Jomana was unaware how deeply embedded Egypt’s traditional gender roles and social stereotypes were in other areas of the country. While walking from Aswan to Cairo, she stopped to speak at several youth centers about the importance of sports participation for women and girls in building a sense of self-worth and belonging. That was when she began to see how many women and girls were not allowed the same sporting opportunities she was growing up in the capital city. Upon finishing her 559-mile walk, she was resolved to make a difference. Jomana has designed her “Be Active” to empower women in under-served communities through sport.

Jomana has taken on a new challenge of stand up paddling (SUP). In 2019, she became the first Egyptian and Arab woman to participate in the SUP World Championship in Qingdao where she also became a certified international referee. She was recently assigned to referee in the 2022 SUP World Championship in Gydnia, Poland. To build on her expertise and love for the sport, Jomana has recently co-founded, Boards and Boats, a Stand Up Paddling and Kayaking academy in Cairo. The goal of the academy is to bring water sports to people where they are, to spread the love of SUP and kayak to people of all age groups and to inspire them to find fitness and fun on the water. Jomana recently paddled 155 miles from Minya to Cairo to illuminate the growing concern of pollution in the Nile River and authored the book, 24 Days Following the Nile on Foot.

Through her GSMP experience, Jomana hopes to learn best practices in creating a social development project to better serve rural communities throughout Egypt to implement her Be Active initiative. She would also like to enhance her leadership skills and build a supportive network of global sports innovators.