Youth calls on Egyptian government to give him an identity

Ibrahim addressing the Plan Egypt birth registration conference

18-year-old Ibrahim took to the stage at Plan Egypt's national conference on universal birth registration to tell government officials that he can't get a job and even risks arrest because he doesn’t have a birth certificate.

Ibrahim explained that his father lost his ID and deserted the family when he was very young, so his mother was not able to register him.

As a result, Ibrahim didn’t go to school and now doesn’t have a decent job.

Conference call

Addressing the conference, Ibrahim said: “I feel so insecure when I walk in the street, because at any time a police officer can stop me and ask for my ID, which I do not have, and if he finds out that I do not have ID he could then arrest me. Thank God this has not happened to me before, but it could.

“I am very fed up with life since I cannot work in a proper place - when I apply the first thing the employer asks me is whether I have an ID or not, which of course I do not. Therefore I cannot support my family, since the jobs that I work in pay extremely low wages.

“Even one day when I fall in love and want to get married, I will not be able to because I have no ID to prove my existence as an Egyptian citizen. I really would like to have a birth certificate one day. I am sure it will make my life easier in so many ways.” 

Campaign push

Plan is pushing the Egyptian government to allow more children to be registered by extending the 2 week free registration period for newborns and removing the risk of a fine and even arrest for late registration.

The current level of registration in Egypt varies from total coverage in urban areas to around 93% in slums, rural and remote Bedouin areas.

As a result of the conference, Ibrahim has now been given a route to receiving his own birth certificate. 

Find out more about our universal birth registration campaign