Abstract

While education is globally framed as a tool of empowerment, its transformative potential for underprivileged females in rural Upper Egypt is often constrained by deeply-rooted social norms and structural poverty. This study investigates this paradox within the context of Egypt’s community schools (CS), an educational model designed to bridge different forms of inequalities. Although existing scholarship has explored the CS model as a vehicle for community development, less attention has been paid to the specific, lived experience of empowerment from the perspective of the female students. This research moves beyond broader community views to center the intersectional, subjective realities of graduates, answering: How do underprivileged females in Egypt’s CS experience empowerment, and how do their intersecting identities shape this experience?

This study employs a qualitative feminist research paradigm, which is an approach that centers the voices of marginalized groups to challenge power imbalances in knowledge production and privileges the subjective, co-constructed meanings of participants’ lived experiences (Harding,1987; Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011). Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), data was gathered through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 31 females aged 18+ of CS in the Fayoum and Assiut governorates. The findings from these interviews were analyzed using Sen’s capability theory, Rawls’ theory of justice, Kabeer’s female empowerment framework, and Crenshaw’s intersectionality theory.

Findings reveal that empowerment is a complex process, not a simple outcome. Furthermore, it posits that it has many forms, definitions, and faces. These definitions are not universal and should not be pre-defined; instead, they must be defined by the people themselves. This study contributes a phenomenological understanding grounded in the participants’ own narratives, concluding that for these females, empowerment is defined by their own lived experiences which are shaped by different intersecting factors.

School

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department

Educational Studies Department

Degree Name

MA in International & Comparative Education

Graduation Date

Fall 2-15-2026

Submission Date

1-23-2026

First Advisor

Malak Zaalouk

Committee Member 1

Teklu Bekele

Committee Member 2

Ibrahim Karkouti

Extent

113 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

Disclosure of AI Use

Translation; Thesis editing and/or reviewing

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Available for download on Sunday, January 23, 2028

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