Despite being a 3000 year old civilization, there exists a peculiar taboo in Egypt, where men never disclose their mother’s names in public, fearing they could be shamed or ridiculed.
So much so, that mother’s names are forgotten over time, and they are only referred to as ‘the mother of her eldest son.’
A name is a fundamental right for every person. And to have someone take it away from you, no less your own son, stands against gender equality and human rights in the context of a modern and progressive society.
Starting Mother’s Day, UN Women – a champion of women’s rights and gender equality, wanted men across Egypt, to ‘Give mom back her name’.
The Campaign
Despite being a 3000 year old civilization, there exists a peculiar taboo in Egypt, where men never disclose their mother’s names in public, fearing they could be shamed or ridiculed.
Before Mother’s Day, we went down the streets of Cairo and asked men one simple question - ‘What is your mother’s name?
We took our findings from the streets and launched a film on social media, to begin an initiative for the men of Egypt starting Mother’s Day, to ‘Give mom back her name’.
In under 24 hours #MyMothersNameIs began trending on Social Media and every major publication and television channel in Egypt picked up our film, starting a nationwide debate from the newsrooms to the nerve centers of Egypt. To amplify this sentiment, we filled the streets with posters where people wrote their mom’s names.
Creative Execution
Before Mother’s Day, we went down the streets of Cairo and asked men one simple question - ‘What is your mother’s name?
We took our findings from the streets and launched a film on social media, to begin an initiative for the men of Egypt starting Mother’s Day, to ‘Give mom back her name’ with the hashtag #MyMothersNameIs
The film was picked up, leveraged and spread across every corner of the nation by Egypt’s mass media and on social blogs. This created a ripple effect of awareness across the Middle East region and beyond.
To amplify this sentiment from social and mass media and create on-ground momentum, we filled Cairo with interactive posters where people wrote their mom’s names.
Every leading newspaper and TV channel in Egypt, the Middle East and the world covered the issue, debated the stigma and spread the message.
But most importantly, they took the debate to the nerve centers of Egypt – The Schools, Community Forums and the Streets.
Women and Gender Equality groups joined the conversation.
2nd most shared film on Facebook worldwide in less than 24 hours-Mashable
118 million regional twitter impressions
315 million regional facebook impressions
Worldwide Viral No.6 on 3rd Week March - Campaign Viral Chart, UK
Most Trending Content on Feminism & Gender Equality - Trendolizer
Scores of Egyptian men, women and leading celebrities, questioned the stigma and revealed their mother’s names proudly in public.
The most unexpected result however, was not only that men gave mothers the right to their names, but that mothers stood for their rights themselves, for the first time.