Reda Shoukr

Reda Shoukr has dedicated her career to improving the lives of human trafficking survivors. Since founding the Al-Shehab Institute for Promotion and Comprehensive Development (Al-Shehab) in 2002, Shoukr has assisted more than 15,000 women and girls vulnerable to domestic servitude due to previous experiences with sexual exploitation, violence, or HIV/AIDS.

Through Al-Shehab, she helps hundreds of vulnerable women and human trafficking survivors every year transition from their life of exploitation by providing them with legal aid, social services, psychological support, and vocational training.  

Shoukr formed Al-Shehab based on listening sessions she held with vulnerable women in Cairo’s slums to better understand their problems, why they felt exploited, and how she could practically help them. 

Al-Shehab’s legal aid services maintain relationships with police stations in greater Cairo and throughout Egypt in order to identify and to release wrongfully charged victims of human trafficking.  Through this close partnership with local police, Al-Shehab has provided legal services to 800 victims each year and secured the release of 400 victims due to lack of evidence.