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.’

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

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 –Schools, Community Forums and Streets. To amplify this sentiment, we filled the streets with posters where people wrote their mom’s names.

The dialogue gained further momentum when Women and Gender Equality groups joined in. Beyond Egypt, regional and International media became a catalyst for millions of Arab voices from around the world.

This proved to be an awakening, as scores of Egyptian men, women and celebrities, questioned the stigma and revealed their mother’s names proudly in public.

Not only did men give mothers the right to their names, but that mothers stood for their rights themselves, for the first time.

Before Mother’s Day, we went down the streets of Cairo and asked men one simple question - ‘What is your mother’s name. We launched a film of our findings on social media, to begin an initiative for the men of Egypt, to ‘Give mom back her name’ with the hashtag #MyMothersNameIs

The film was picked up from social media, leveraged and spread across every corner of the nation by Egypt’s mass media and on their social media platforms. This created a ripple effect of awareness and started debates online and on-ground across the Middle East region and beyond.

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.