This chapter provides an overview of Egypt’s national legislation regarding women’s economic empowerment and assesses the extent to which existing laws promote women’s economic rights and opportunities. It analyses formal and informal laws governing women’s access to assets, their labour market inclusion and protection from violence to identify any provisions or legal gaps that may undermine their economic empowerment. The chapter then provides concrete policy recommendations for how to strengthen the current legal frameworks and ensure appropriate enforcement of laws by paying special attention to the role of informal laws and social norms that may hinder compliance with statutory laws.
Women’s Economic Empowerment in Egypt
Abstract
Over the past five years, Egypt has amended existing laws and enacted new legislation to foster women’s economic inclusion, notably by lifting most legal limits on their employability, granting women paid maternity leave, and better protecting them from all forms of violence, including workplace harassment.
Women’s access to property, assets and financial services can still be limited by informal laws that circumvent statutory legislation. To tackle this issue, it is crucial to enhance the enforcement of existing statutory laws and implement policies aimed at transforming the social norms and traditions perpetuating any potential discriminatory informal laws.
Women’s participation in the labour market is still lower than, and different to, men’s. Several legislative factors are behind this. While women’s rights to work have been strengthened through the new Labour Code, protective measures embedded in the legislation may influence women’s range of employment options. In addition, the absence of longer paid paternity or parental leave limits women’s labour force participation.
Violence against women can damage their health, well-being, socio-economic inclusion and ability to participate in the economy at their full potential. Egypt’s Constitution mandates the protection of women from all forms of violence, but the national legislation still contains some gaps.
Next steps include updating laws and closing gaps in the law to actively promote women’s economic rights and access to assets, revisiting parental leave policies and expanding legal coverage of social insurance, strengthening the legal and policy framework to protect women from all forms of violence, addressing traditional social norms and informal laws, and ensuring stricter law enforcement.
Women’s economic empowerment depends on a myriad of factors, with legal frameworks governing the rights of men and women being a critical component. Women’s economic empowerment will remain limited as long as women do not have the same rights as men to own, control and use productive resources, assets and financial services; and as long as laws do not mandate equal rights in all aspects of employment. While laws alone cannot guarantee gender equality in the economic sphere, they send a strong signal to society about what should be considered the norm. The effectiveness of legal frameworks in ensuring both de jure and de facto equality depends on rigorous enforcement and societal adherence.
This chapter explores the legal framework, social institutions and informal laws affecting women’s economic empowerment. It begins by providing some background to Egypt’s legal system and the role of the Constitution in gender equality, as well as the part played by social institutions and informal laws in discrimination. Section 3.2 then analyses legal obstacles – both formal and informal – when it comes to inheritance and women’s access to productive resources, such as land and property, as well as to financial services. Legal frameworks governing women’s labour inclusion are the focus of Section 3.3, which explores their role in restricting the kinds of jobs women can hold, in promoting a more gender-equal division of childcare, and in protecting women from violence, which can undermine their labour inclusion. Section 3.4 concludes with detailed policy recommendations, including lessons from other countries.
Egypt’s legal system is mainly based on civil law, and some laws feature Islamic principles. The Constitution enshrines the principles of Islamic Sharia as the main source of legislation (Article 2) but permits non-Muslim Egyptians to use their own legal codes to regulate their personal status matters (e.g. marriage, divorce or child custody) and religious affairs (Article 3) (Government of Egypt, 2014[1]). Personal status matters of the majority Muslim Egyptian population are governed by a set of personal status laws. These laws comprise Islamic Sharia rules that have been codified over time. When the existing personal status laws do not include a provision on a specific matter of personal status for Muslim Egyptians, the law provides that the (non-codified) rules of Hanafi jurisprudence1 shall apply (Article 3, Law No. 1 of 2000) (Government of Egypt, 2000[2]).
The enactment of the new Constitution in 2014 marked a significant step towards gender equality in Egypt. The new Constitution highlights the government's commitment to ensuring equality between men and women in “civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights” and to prohibit all forms of discrimination (Articles 11 and 53) (Government of Egypt, 2014[1]). Under the umbrella of the Egypt Vision 2030 (Government of Egypt, 2023[3]), the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030 (Government of Egypt, 2017[4]) and the National Human Rights Strategy (launched in 2021) (Government of Egypt, 2021[5]), the government commits to promoting women’s economic empowerment and to protecting and enforcing their rights as stipulated by national legislation. These key strategies respectively mandate the National Council for Women and the National Council for Human Rights to implement actions to realise the targets set. This has led to, amongst others, the establishment of the Egypt National Observatory for Women, which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women 2030 with the help of indicators and benchmarks to measure progress. Such bodies are essential for ensuring that laws and conventions promoting equal rights in the economic sphere and beyond (as ratified by Egypt) are enforced. Moreover, it is critical to implement programmes that equip women with the knowledge and tools required to claim their rights (OECD, 2017[6]). This is particularly relevant for newly enacted or amended laws that hold the potential to enhance women’s economic empowerment.
This chapter covers the most recent legal and policy reforms in Egypt between 2017 and 2025 (Table 3.1). The OECD publication Changing Laws and Breaking Barriers for Women’s Economic Empowerment in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia gives a comprehensive overview of Egypt’s laws and policies in support of women’s economic empowerment between 2017 and 2019 (OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]).
Note: Article 2 from the CEDAW convention covers the incorporation of the principle of equality between men and women in the Constitution and other appropriate legislations, as well as the elimination of any existing legal discrimination, Article 16 calls for equality in marriage and family life and Article 29(2) addresses the administration of the convention and arbitration of disputes. Egypt justifies its reservations on these articles on religious grounds and expresses its willingness to implement them under the condition that such implementation does not contradict the Islamic Sharia (United Nations, 2023[8]). For an overview of legal reforms that were enacted prior to 2017/2018, please consult (OECD, 2017[6]).
Source: OECD (2023[9]), Social Institutions & Gender Index Dashboard, https://www.oecd.org/en/data/dashboards/social-institutions-gender-index.html; NCW (2024[10]), Egyptian Women Fact Sheet 2014 – 2024.
Social institutions and informal laws can reinforce discrimination
While Egypt has made important strides in implementing legal reforms and national strategies aimed at advancing women’s rights and empowerment, challenges linked to discrimination in social institutions persist. The Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) reflects these challenges and their implications for women’s empowerment (Box 3.1). Findings from the fifth edition of the SIGI show that the overall level of discrimination in social institutions – laws, norms and practices – remains elevated in Egypt, as indicated by a score of 55 (OECD, 2023[11]). While this reflects the average across the MENA region (56), it contrasts with the OECD countries’ very low levels of discrimination (averaging 15) (Figure 3.1, Panel A).
The framework
The Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) is a unique cross-country composite index that measures the level of gender discrimination in social institutions. The index was created in 2009 by the OECD Development Centre and is published every four years, with its fifth edition released in 2023. The SIGI’s framework relies on four dimensions spanning the main socio-economic areas that affect women and girls throughout their lives: from discrimination in the family to restrictions on their physical integrity, their economic empowerment and their rights and agency in the public and political spheres.
The main objective of the SIGI is to assess the level of gender-based discrimination in formal and informal laws, social norms and practices that can limit women’s and girls’ rights and opportunities throughout their life. It captures the underlying, often “hidden” drivers of gender inequality, and provides the data necessary for transformative change in laws, policies and social norms. The SIGI is one of the official data sources for monitoring Sustainable Development Goal 5.1.1: “whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor gender equality and women’s empowerment.”
The data collection process
Over the course of 2022, the OECD Development Centre collected the data for fifth edition of the SIGI. Data on legal frameworks – both formal and informal – were collected through the SIGI 2023 Legal Survey that was first filled in by legal experts and then validated by governments. For Egypt, the NCW validated the accuracy of the SIGI legal data in 2023. Data on social norms and attitudes for all countries are drawn from existing data bases and are compiled and harmonised by the OECD. The recent OECD publication SIGI 2023 Methodology: A Statistical Instrument to Assess Deeply Rooted Gender-based Discrimination in Social Institution provides detailed information on the methodology and data collection process of the fifth edition of the SIGI (OECD, 2025[12]).
Informal laws
In the context of the OECD’s Social Institutions and Gender Index, the term “informal laws” is used to refer to uncodified or unwritten customary, traditional or religious laws/rules which describe mechanisms that operate outside the formal legal system of state-based laws. Informal legal systems can vary from one community to another and can change over time in response to external factors.
Source: OECD (2023[13]), Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), https://www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/social-institutions-and-gender-index-sigi.html; OECD (2025[12]), SIGI 2023 Methodology: A Statistical Instrument to Assess Deeply Rooted Gender-based Discrimination in Social Institutions, https://doi.org/10.1787/775aca3a-en.
Discrimination is most pronounced in the family, influencing women’s rights and opportunities across different areas of life (Figure 3.1, Panel B). Discriminatory legal provisions, particularly related to household responsibilities, child custody, divorce and inheritance, contribute to this discrimination, as captured by the SIGI methodology. Some of these provisions also have direct implications for women’s economic participation – for instance, restrictions on fully exercising inheritance rights can limit women’s ownership of productive assets. Although the level of discrimination in the economic sphere, as measured by the “Restricted access to productive resources and services” indicator, is lower than in the family and public/political spheres, it nevertheless continues to strain women’s economic rights and opportunities in Egypt (Figure 3.1, Panel B).
SIGI scores, 2023
Note: Data in Panel A show the SIGI scores for selected country and regional levels. Data in Panel B show SIGI scores by dimension for Egypt and the MENA region. Due to data gaps, SIGI scores could not be calculated for all MENA countries.
Scores range from 0 to 100, with 0 indicating no discrimination and 100 indicating absolute discrimination. Levels of discrimination in the SIGI and its dimensions are assessed based on scores as follows: very low [0-20]; low [20-30]; medium [30-40]; high [40-50]; and very high [50-100].
The MENA region covers Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinian Authority and Yemen.
Source: OECD (2023[14]), Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) 2023 (dataset), https://doi.org/10.1787/33beb96e-en .
Building on ongoing initiatives, policymakers should develop strategies and programmes that aim at transforming persistent social norms and discriminatory informal laws that limit women’s rights and opportunities. Specifically, policymakers should work closely with traditional, religious and community leaders to co-create and implement interventions to sensitise the population to women’s rights and any relevant changes made to national legislation. With a whole-of-society approach in mind, specific activities should be developed and implemented targeting men and boys to allow them to learn about gender equality and its benefits for all members of society, and provide them with training and support on how to adopt more gender-equitable and non-violent attitudes and behaviour. Chapter 4 outlines these types of activities in greater detail.
Another area where social institutions have a bearing on women’s economic empowerment is early marriage. This affects 26% of girls aged 15 to 19 (OECD, 2023[15]), limiting their educational and economic opportunities, especially in rural areas. The Egyptian Government has taken significant steps to address this practice, including raising the legal marriage age and imposing sanctions on adults who marry minors and on parents involved in child marriage. Despite improvements, early marriage continues to be an issue, underpinned by societal norms and economic considerations. Chapter 4 discusses early marriage in greater detail.
Egypt has enacted several legal reforms to support women’s economic empowerment: it is crucial to ensure that gatekeepers of women’s rights, such as employers and police officers – as well as the population at large – are well informed about these legal changes. Policymakers should thus launch targeted awareness-raising campaigns on newly enacted laws as a first step to ensure compliance with the law. Moreover, the National Council of Women, the Observatory of Women and the Human Rights Council, who are in charge of implementing and monitoring actions to promote women’s economic empowerment and compliance with national legislation, could consider developing a network of reporting structures to flag violations of the law – e.g. in the case of inheritance deprivation (Section 3.2) – and to provide dedicated support for women seeking to claim their rights.
Access to property and finance is a key element of economic empowerment, yet legal obstacles – both formal and informal – can limit women’s access to these productive resources. Ownership of land or other assets provides individuals with opportunities to sustain their livelihoods, either through cultivation of owned land or by engaging in income-generating activities. Notably, property is a common form of financial collateral which is often required when taking out a loan or credit that could be used for business development.
The ability to own, use and manage agricultural land in Egypt is intrinsically linked to economic empowerment. More than half of the population (57%) lives in rural areas and largely depends on agriculture and subsistence farming for their livelihoods (The World Bank, 2022[16]; UNDP, 2023[17]). While the legal framework grants women and men equal ownership rights, available evidence suggests that women’s land and housing ownership remains low, which can limit their economic opportunities (OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]). However, as recent comprehensive and disaggregated data on women’s land and property ownership are scarce, it is difficult to assess progress over time or to fully capture regional differences.
Inheritance laws and legal gaps affect women’s access to land and other assets
While the legal frameworks governing land and non-land assets – the Constitution and the Civil Code – stipulate equal rights for men and women to own, use and manage these assets (Government of Egypt, 2014[1]; Government of Egypt, 1948[18]), legal gaps and certain practices can limit the full realisation of this equality in practice. Inheritance is one of the primary ways to acquire property and productive assets. Article 35 of the Constitution enshrines the right to inherit property, and the Inheritance Law (Law No. 77 of 1943, amended in 2017) governs inheritance matters for all citizens regardless of their religion (Government of Egypt, 2014[1]; Government of Egypt, 1943[19]).2 Law No. 77 of 1943 codifies Islamic inheritance principles, which establish the inheritance rights for women and men. The law pre-defines a woman’s share of the estate based on her family relationship with the testator, according to which daughters, for example, will receive half the share received by sons. This is inconsistent with Article 53 of the Constitution, which establishes that all citizens, regardless of sex, are equal before the law and possess equal rights. The justification for men to inherit greater shares than women is based on traditional norms which say that men are responsible for providing for their wife and children (OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]). Sharia law further sets out specific circumstances under which women would inherit more than men: in a few cases, men and women are entitled to equal shares of the estate, such as the mother and father of the deceased person (UNDP, 2018[20]).
While Egypt strengthened women’s inheritance rights in 2017, the distribution of shares between men and women continues to follow existing legal provisions. The amendment of Law No. 77 of 1943 by Law No. 219 of 2017 marked a milestone in the fight to end the unlawful deprivation or denial of women’s inheritance rights (Box 3.2). Prior to the enactment of this law, several studies and field assessments had pointed to widespread challenges in women’s ability to claim their rightful inheritance, particularly in rural areas where agricultural land is concerned (Zayed, 2022[21]; Khodary, 2018[22]). Under the newly introduced Article 49, those depriving or denying women – or any other person – of their legitimate share of inheritance face monetary penalties and a six-month prison sentence (OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]).
The government has taken several steps to raise awareness among women regarding their legal rights, including a campaign. In addition, a two-year national campaign, led by a coalition of civil society organisations and an international non-governmental organisation, Care International Egypt, paved the way for the 2017 Inheritance law reform. Care International Egypt was simultaneously implementing the WIN programme to strengthen women’s ability to claim their inheritance rights. Good practices that paved the way for the reform included: (i) close and consistent collaboration with religious institutions and leaders – both Muslim and Christian – who raised awareness among the religious communities of the fact that the denial of women’s inheritance rights is not part of religious laws; (ii) training for community “agents of change”, who are perceived as trustworthy and who would carry out awareness raising activities on inheritance and map cases of inheritance denial; (iii) setting up mediation committees composed of religious leaders, legal specialists and society representatives, along with legal aid centres that took on a role as a “pressuring force” in support of the mediation committees; and (v) collecting signatories for the draft law prior to submitting it to parliament, and gaining strategic support by a female member of parliament to lobby for the form from within (Zayed, 2022[21]; Khodary, 2018[22]; OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]).
On 8 July 2023, the Supreme Constitutional Court rejected a court case defying the constitutionality of Article 49 of the Inheritance Law as amended by Law No. 219 of 2017. This landmark judgement – upholding Article 49 (according to which it is a crime to refuse or withhold a person’s and particularly a woman’s inheritance share) – sent a strong signal for women’s inheritance.
However, informal laws and customs that are deeply entrenched in cultural beliefs are prone to supersede the statutory law on inheritance, especially when agricultural land is at stake. Daughters have traditionally been deprived of their right to inherit land in order to avoid the property leaving the family, i.e. falling into the hands of the daughter’s husband. To protect themselves from social sanctions and to avoid the risk of being disowned by their families, women may refrain from asserting their legitimate inheritance rights (OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]).
Legal gaps and unequal power dynamics that circumvent the codified legislation on property ownership – rather than inheritance – further limit women’s access to productive resources. The Civil Code regulates ownership of assets during marriage, but does not regulate the distribution of marital property upon divorce. This constitutes a legal vacuum which can lead to the economic vulnerability of the wife. Without stipulating the equal distribution of marital property, there is a risk that the major share of the property remains in the hands of the man, who – according to social norms – is traditionally the one in charge of family assets and responsible for financially sustaining his (future) wife and children (CEDAW, 2021[23]). In fact, Article 11 of the 1929 Personal Status Law requires women to obey their husbands in exchange for spousal maintenance, thus upholding gender roles that prioritise men’s access and control over assets and/or financial means (OECD Development Centre/OECD, 2023[24]; OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]).
Women’s access to property matters for their financial inclusion
Women in Egypt and in the MENA region face persistent structural barriers in accessing finance to start and grow businesses. These include unequal access to property, inheritance, and labour markets, which limits their ability to accumulate capital and meet collateral requirements.
Recent reforms have aimed to enhance women’s financial inclusion as customers as well as decision-makers on financial services. The legal framework governing financial assets and services guarantees equal rights for men and women. Since 2020, Egypt has undertaken several legislative steps to enhance women’s financial inclusion. Notably, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) issued Decisions No. 204 and 205 of 2020 which prohibit gender-based discrimination in the provision of financial services and mandate the development of non-banking financial products that take into account women’s needs, respectively (Egypt Women on Boards Observatory and The American University in Cairo, 2020[25]). Moreover, the FRA issued Decision No. 48 of 2022 mandating the representation of no less than 25% or two women on companies’ and non-bank financial entities’ board of directors.
Despite these efforts, in 2023, only 29% of men and 23% of women had an account at a formal financial institution, well below the MENA regional averages of 54% and 40%, respectively (OECD, 2023[11]). Structural factors, such as the scarcity of bank branches outside urban areas, can limit rural women’s financial inclusion. Moreover, informal laws and customs that limit women’s access to property can influence their ability to access and use financial services, as land or real estate are common types of financial collateral required when applying for a loan or credit (OECD Development Centre/OECD, 2023[24]). This has implications for women’s economic and, especially, entrepreneurial activities, as obtaining credit is often critical to develop, run or scale up a business (OECD, 2017[6]) (Chapter 8). Egypt has launched a partnership between the Central Bank of Egypt and the National Council for Women through the "Tahweesha" savings and lending programme, achieving a growth rate of 252% in financial inclusion rates. Designed specifically for rural women, Ta7wisha provides a safe and convenient digital space for group savings and loans, enabling women to set up joint bank accounts and electronic payment cards (NCW, 2024[10]).
Changing attitudes can take time
An inclusive approach is required to create a supportive environment for legal changes, involving consulting with the public, and awareness campaigns on the importance of women’s inheritance rights in the context of cultural and economic change. In addition, strong institutional and law enforcement mechanisms are required to uphold equality principles in practice. The experience in Morocco and Tunisia, where the public debate on granting women and men equal inheritance rights is very lively, reveals that large parts of society remain opposed to a potential legal reform (El-Sadany and Jamali, 2023[26]; National Human Rights Council, 2022[27]). Tunisia and Türkiye’s experiences also offer valuable lessons for Egypt (Box 3.3). Policymakers, in collaboration with religious and community leaders, should further strengthen awareness-raising efforts to promote a shift in the population’s attitudes and the adopted inheritance practices.
Recognising that it takes time to change attitudes, policymakers should set both short-term and long-term goals. They should start by strengthening women’s inheritance rights through stricter law enforcement, and then closing legal gaps that may limit married, divorced or widowed women’s access to assets. This requires strictly enforcing Article 49 of the Inheritance Law No. 77 of 1943 (as amended), that criminalises the deprivation or denial of inheritance, as well as investing in structures and mechanisms that support women to claim their inheritance rights – as was done to pave the way for the 2017 inheritance law reform (Box 3.2). Furthermore, policy makers should adopt a two-pronged approach to promote equal inheritance rights for men and women: (1) In line with CEDAW recommendations, repeal discriminatory provisions in the Inheritance Law No. 77 of 1943 to grant equal rights to men and women; (2) Closely collaborate with religious and community leaders advocating in favour of such a change to sensitise the population and policymakers to pave the way for the reform.
In 2017, the Tunisian President Béji Caïd Essebsi (2014-2019) created the Committee for Individual Liberties and Equality (COLIBE), which elaborated a draft law that would grant women and men equal inheritance rights. This move away from the Islamic Sharia principle, according to which men inherit twice the share of women, was backed by jurisprudential, sociological and legal arguments. For instance, COLIBE stated that the existing Inheritance Law contradicted the equality principle of the Constitution. Moreover, COLIBE argued that women’s and men’s social roles have converged over time, which thus removes the justification that men should be entitled to greater shares of the testate as primary providers for the family. The bill was endorsed in 2018 by the Council of Ministers and approved by the Tunisian Cabinet. It was then blocked by Parliament and finally discarded by Béji Caïd Essebsi’s successor, Kaïs Saïed, in 2019. Large groups of society, including both men and women, also opposed the bill, revealing the importance of promoting legal change alongside transformation of social norms (Bernard-Maugiron, 2021[28]); (COLIBE, 2018[29]); (OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]).
Under Türkiye’s secular civil law, adopted in 1926 and revised in 2002, women and men have equal inheritance rights. Evidence shows that some individuals or communities revert to Islamic law to regulate the distribution of inheritance to the detriment of the equality principle set forth in civil law (Toktas and O’Neil, 2015[30]). Türkiye’s experience attests to the importance of establishing strong institutions and law enforcement mechanisms to ensure that equality principles are respected in practice.
When it comes to property rights, policymakers should consider enhancing women’s rights by strengthening the surviving spouse’s status as legal owner of jointly held property upon the death of the other spouse. They could also amend the Civil Code by introducing a provision that regulates the distribution of marital property upon divorce. The examples from Indonesia, Singapore and South Africa in Box 3.4 offer insights into how Egypt can approach this.
Indonesia: Law No. 1 of 1974 on Marriage (as amended by Law No. 16 of 2019), along with the Civil Code, provides married women and men with the same ownership rights. Any property acquired during marriage is considered joint property of husband and wife, and upon divorce the spouse has the default right to half of the matrimonial assets unless stipulated otherwise in the marriage contract.
Singapore: The Intestate Succession Act applies to the non-Muslim population and grants women and men equal inheritance rights. The Administration of Muslim Law Act establishes that Muslims’ inheritance rights shall be governed by Muslim Law. To protect the financial security of Muslim women, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore has issued a religious ruling (fatwa) that recognises the surviving spouse as legal owner of jointly held property upon the death of the other spouse.
South Africa: Codified customary law coexists with civil law. In 2009, the Customary Law and Succession and Related Matters Act was updated to better protect female surviving spouses’ right to inheritance on an equal basis with men. Moreover, the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (2000, as amended) strictly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, particularly if it would limit women’s access to land.
Women’s participation in the labour market remains limited in Egypt and gender gaps are significant. For the past ten years, women’s labour force participation rate has been significantly lower than men’s, with an average gender gap of 50 percentage points (Figure 3.2, Panel B), which is in line with the average gender gap in the MENA region (Chapter 7). Women and men’s unequal standing in the labour market is also reflected in the informal economy. While the informal employment rate is higher for men than for women (73% versus 62% in 2023), women tend to work in the most vulnerable segments of the informal economy (Chapter 7) (International Labour Organization, 2023[31]; Lopez-Acevedo et al., 2023[32]).
These gender disparities are partially reflected in the laws that govern women’s economic rights and opportunities – some strengthening is needed. Legal frameworks that prohibit discrimination in the workplace, mandate decent maternity and parental leave schemes, and protect women from all forms of violence are key tools to promote women’s labour market inclusion. Data from the fifth edition of the SIGI, however, indicate some areas where these frameworks could be further strengthened in Egypt, as discussed in the sections which follow.
Employment by sector and sex, 2023 (Panel A) and labour force participation rate by sex, 2013-2023 (Panel B)
Note: Data in Panel A show 2023 ILO-modelled estimates for the percentage share of employment (total population and sex-disaggregated) by economic sector. Data in Panel B show the labour force participation rate by sex over time, with data for 2013-2020 showing real values, and data for 2021-2023 reflecting modelled estimates.
Source: ILO (2025[33]), Employment by sex and economic activity -- ILO modelled estimates (ILOSTAT data explorer), https://rshiny.ilo.org/dataexplorer93/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=EMP_2EMP_SEX_ECO_NB_A&channel=ilostat; ILO (2023[34]), Labour force participation rate by sex and age -- ILO modelled estimates (LIOSTAT data explorer), https://rshiny.ilo.org/dataexplorer53/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=EAP_2WAP_SEX_AGE_RT_A&channel=ilostat.
Provisions in labour and personal status laws shape women’s rights
Gender-based discrimination in employment is prohibited under Egypt’s legislation. Egypt has ratified ILO Convention C-111 on non-discrimination in employment (International Labour Organization, 1958[35]). This commitment is mirrored by Articles 38, 88 and 120 of the Labour Code,3 as well as Article 1 of the Civil Service Law, which prohibit gender-based discrimination in employment (Government of Egypt, 2003[36]; Government of Egypt, 2016[37]). The new Labour Law Code No. 14 of 2025 introduces financial sanctions for employers, companies or individual establishments that violate the non-discrimination principle, constituting important mechanisms to ensure that relevant actors do not infringe the law.
The new Labour Code also closes an important legal gap by mandating equal pay for work of equal value. The principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value goes beyond ensuring that two individuals doing the same job in the same company are paid the same wage. It aims at overcoming systemic pay inequalities across jobs that are of equal value to the economy and society, but that are not equally valued in monetary terms. For instance, the ILO estimates that the value of caterers’ and cleaners’ work, mostly done by women, is of equal value to that of gardeners and drivers, which is mostly done by men (International Labour Organization, 2017[38]). As professions or sectors labelled as “female” and/or with a high share of women workers tend to be systematically undervalued, mandating equal pay for work of equal value is indispensable to value women and men’s work and contribution to the economy equally. Previously, Article 35 of the 2003 Labour Code prohibited discrimination in wages, including on the grounds of sex. Article 53 of the new Labour Code goes further, specifically mandating that all workers, men and women, are entitled to equal pay for work of equal value (Government of Egypt, 2003[36]; Government of Egypt, 2025[39]). ILO Convention C-100 also stipulates equal pay for work of equal value and Egypt is a member of the Equal Pay International Coalition (International Labour Organization, 1951[40]; Equal Pay International Coalition, n.d.[41]).
Protective measures embedded in national legislation can have indirect impacts on women’s economic opportunities. Article 53 of the new Labour Code authorises the competent minister to determine the conditions or roles in which women may not be employed, with the aim of safeguarding motherhood and addressing occupational health and safety risks. Moreover, Article 5 of the new Labour Code clarifies that advantages or protections granted to women are not considered discriminatory (Government of Egypt, 2025[39]). While these provisions are intended to offer protection, they may limit women’s range of employment options (Box 3.5) and raise considerations over whether similar health and safety protections should be extended to male workers. Further reforms and targeted initiatives could support greater participation by women in sectors or professions typically considered as men’s, and vice versa. These could be integrated in or build on ongoing initiatives, such as those led by the NCW’s Women Business and Development Centre (The National Council for Women, 2024[42]). For instance, entrepreneurship and financial inclusion programmes such as Addaha W2doud (You Can Do It) or Al Mashghal (Training and Production Hub) could offer targeted training to support women in designing and marketing quality products and services for currently male-dominated sectors.
In 2021, prior to the issuance of the new Labour Code, Egypt had already taken steps to expand women’s employability. The Ministry of Manpower Decisions No. 43 and 44 of 2021 established that women can request night work, along with employer protections for health and family responsibilities (Articles 1-8). Previously, night work for women was not permitted. Nevertheless, these decisions continue to limit (non-pregnant) women from working in the mining and construction sector, and in occupations deemed hazardous or morally inappropriate (Articles 3-4) (OECD Development Centre/OECD, 2023[24]). This reduces women’s career choices: for instance, in 2023 women represented only 6% of employees in the mining and quarrying, electricity, gas and water supply sectors (International Labour Organization, 2023[43]).
Policymakers should consider lifting the remaining barriers to non-pregnant women’s right to work in the construction and mining sector. In addition, limits to non-pregnant women’s employability in hazardous professions should either be lifted or extended to all workers, in line with the gender equality principle enshrined in Egypt’s Constitution. These steps would ensure Egypt’s full compliance with ILO Convention No. 111 on non-discrimination in employment. Egypt could follow the example of reform packages implemented by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia to lift any remaining obstacles to women’s ability to work in certain sectors (Box 3.6). Egyptian legislators could seek exchanges with Emirati and Saudi peers to assess how existing provisions can be updated to enhance women’s rights whilst maintain essential labour rights protections for all workers.
There are multiple programmes implemented by the government to enhance women’s mobility and entrepreneurship. Notable efforts include the expansion of the national transportation network and the Presidential initiative Hayah Karima (Decent Life), which have significantly improved access to services, markets and infrastructure – particularly in rural areas. Rural women’s mobility and economic empowerment are further supported by programmes such as Tahweesha or Forsa (The National Council for Women, 2024[42]).
In 2021, the United Arab Emirates enacted a broad reform package to support women’s labour force participation. Specifically, the government amended the Labour Code to generally prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of gender, and mandate equal pay for work of equal value. It also repealed any provisions that reduced women’s ability to work in certain sectors and at night. Moreover, paid parental leave for private sector workers was introduced.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia undertook similar reforms to lift limits on economic rights enshrined in labour and personal status legislation. Strong government commitment, effective collaboration across key ministries and gender institutions (such as a national gender council) proved to be key enablers for the reform. In addition, the implementation of the law was accompanied by targeted communication and dissemination campaigns (Hamel and Dexter, 2021[44]).
Personal status and informal laws can also affect women’s ability to participate in the labour market. Article 11 bis of the Personal Status Law of 1929 requires Muslim women to obey their husbands in exchange for spousal maintenance (nafaqa) (Government of Egypt, 1929[45]). While Article 1 of the Personal Status Law states that women do not lose spousal maintenance when leaving the house without permission, this only applies to situations permitted by Sharia (be it in written rule or custom).
However, it is important to note that debates on reforming the Personal Status Law are ongoing. Debates over reforming the Personal Status Law for Egyptian Muslims have been very lively in recent years. In 2019, Members of Parliament, as well as the Council of High Scholars of al-Azhar, presented their draft bills. In 2021, the government submitted its own draft bill to parliament. Both the al-Azhar and presidential bill prompted significant public debate, after which President Al-Sisi (2014-present) mandated the creation of a committee to review the draft and facilitate social dialogue. The committee, composed of ten judges, was established in 2022 (Moussa, 2024[46]).
Going forward, and in order to formulate a balanced and gender-equal new personal status law, the committee should consult relevant government, religious and women’s rights experts. Specifically, gender-discriminatory provisions should be repealed so as to ensure equal rights for husband and wife. For instance, Article 1 of Law No. 25 of 1920 and Article 11 of Law No. 25 of 1929 should be amended. Finally, policymakers and legislators should further work to guarantee equal rights between spouses in marriage for all groups of the population regardless of their religious denomination. To gain public support for the reform, Egypt can build on Morocco’s experience (Box 3.7) by ensuring that the committee in charge of drafting a new personal status law actively consults civil society organisations.
In Morocco, women’s rights groups have played an essential role in promoting reforms to the Family Law by raising awareness of women’s rights issues effectively and mobilising society to support their cause. The most recent reform to Morocco’s Family Code (Moudawana) dates back to 2003/2004, and was drafted in consultation with women’s rights organisations. Despite significant opposition to the reform, the legal changes took effect in 2004, enhancing women’s rights in a number of areas. Women are no longer required to obey their husbands. Instead, Articles 4, 51 and 52 establish that women and men enjoy equal rights as spouses and have mutual rights and duties (Centre for Public Impact, 2016[47]). In 2023, Morrocco’s House of Representatives took up discussions on possible amendments to the Family Code to “create a balance between Islamic teachings and the reality of modern Moroccan society” (El-Sadany and Jamali, 2023[26]).
Improved paternity cover and expanding social protection to informal workers could boost women’s labour market involvement
Promoting women’s economic empowerment requires policies and laws that ensure gender equality in both the private and economic spheres, as these are intrinsically linked. Social protection schemes guaranteeing that women have access to decent maternity leave while promoting a more gender-equal division of childcare can enhance women’s ability to participate in the labour market in line with their aspirations and qualifications (UN Women, 2018[48]). In 2025, under the new Labour Law, Egypt brought its legislated duration of maternity leave into line with the ILO’s Maternity Protection Convention (C183), even though Egypt is not a signatory (International Labour Organization, 2000[49]). Article 54 of the new Labour Law grants women four months of paid maternity leave and Article 55 protects their employment security, prohibiting employers from dismissing workers who are on maternity leave (Government of Egypt, 2025[39]). Female workers are also now entitled to paid maternity leave up to three times throughout their lifetime. Moreover, Article 128 of the new Labour Code introduces one day of paid leave for men workers in the event of childbirth.
However, the absence of longer paid paternity and parental leave reflects the persistence of norms that view women as the primary child carers and men as the breadwinners. For instance, data from the 2015 Time Use Survey showed that women in Egypt spent on average nine times as much time on unpaid care and domestic work as men (OECD Development Centre/OECD, 2023[50]). OECD calculations using the most recent Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey (2023) reveal important progress, although women still spend over five times as much time on unpaid care and domestic work as men (Chapter 6). This progress has been achieved through a reduction in women’s time spent on such work, while men’s has remained the same (CAPMAS; The Economic Research Forum, 2025[51]).4
Evidence shows that specific paid parental or paternity leave schemes can improve gender equality outcomes – by balancing the time each parent devotes to childcare – as well as women’s economic participation (Chapter 6). Parental leave policies that provide well-paid, non-transferable, earmarked leave for fathers are found to be the most effective in ensuring uptake, thereby supporting gender equality (Baird, Hamilton and Constantin, 2021[52]; Kvande and Brandth, 2019[53]). However, evidence from the MENA region reveals that while individuals may support legislative reforms aimed at increasing men’s involvement in childcare, there is concern about peer acceptance of such reforms. Addressing these perceptions and misconceptions could broaden the potential for legislative changes (UN Women, 2023[54]) (Chapter 6).
With fathers now entitled to one day of paid paternity leave, policymakers should build on this important first step towards more gender-equal parental leave policies. Notably, they should consider developing paid paternity and/or parental leave policies that entitle and require both parents to take paid leave to care for their newborn child. To ensure fathers’ uptake of this leave, policymakers should include non-transferable days for each parent under parental leave schemes, or earmarked days for the father. Adjustments to the law should be accompanied by policies and programmes that promote a more gender-equitable division of childcare as an acceptable social norm. For example, leveraging the clout of national role models, in combination with mass media campaigns, would be effective tools for transforming persistent norms that may prevent fathers from taking paid leave even when it is available (Chapter 6). Colombia’s parental leave reforms offer a valuable example for Egypt on how to expand fathers’ rights to leave (Box 3.8).
In 2021, Colombia enacted Law 2114, which introduced important changes to maternity and paternity leave policies. The duration of paid paternity leave was extended from eight days to two weeks and applied to permanent partners and adoptive parents. Under the current legislation, pregnant workers are entitled to 18 weeks of fully paid leave. As of 2021, upon mutual agreement, mothers can transfer 6 out of 18 weeks to their spouse or permanent partner to complement the paternity leave (OECD Development Centre/OECD, 2023[24]). These arrangements introduce a certain flexibility for parents over how to share care responsibilities, whilst ensuring a minimum participation by both partners through transferable leave weeks.
Social protection schemes are important mechanisms for safeguarding workers’ rights and socio-economic stability, but their reach is limited in settings with high levels of informal employment. In 2019, Egypt issued a new Social Insurance and Pensions law (Law No. 148 of 2019) to increase workers’ enrolment in social insurance and facilitate informal workers’ access (International Labour Organization, n.d.[55]). The law consolidates different social security programmes into a single scheme for all workers, extends protection to additional categories of workers and allows informal workers to self-enrol. While the government covers employers’ contributions for certain categories of informal workers, this provision applies to only a limited set of cases, such as domestic workers (Barsoum and Selwaness, 2022[56]).5 With informal employment accounting for 71% of total employment in Egypt, the majority of informal workers are likely to remain without social protection despite the 2019 legal reforms. Although the informal employment rate is higher for men (73%) than for women (62%), this does not necessarily reduce concerns over women’s economic empowerment (International Labour Organization, 2023[31]; Lopez-Acevedo et al., 2023[32]). As women’s labour force participation remains low (Figure 3.2, Panel B), most do not benefit from social insurance. Additionally, as the majority of Egyptian men work in the informal economy, many will not benefit from social protection schemes that could promote greater gender equality in the economic sphere – such as paid paternity or parental leave. Chapter 7 discusses this law from the point of view of its impacts on formalisation.
Policymakers should continue their efforts to increase the legal coverage of social insurance, especially to protect informal workers. This would involve amending the Social Security Law to expand the categories of informally employed workers who are eligible for social insurance. This should be done in close collaboration with workers’ unions and representatives of workers in different sectors and forms of employment. In the short to medium term, policymakers should consider combining the extension of contribution-based coverage with a social security net for financially vulnerable groups and workers without a regular income who may face difficulties in paying regular contributions. In the longer term, policymakers should also consider making the currently voluntary self-enrolment provision for informal workers mandatory. The extension of legal coverage should be accompanied by strategies that incentivise social security registrations and contributions. A range of measures are possible – but must be thoroughly assessed – including, streamlining administrative processes for registration, and targeted awareness-raising campaigns for newly covered worker categories and their employers.
Insufficient protection from violence can undermine women’s labour inclusion
Sexual harassment in the workplace constitutes a violation of human rights and poses a serious threat to survivors’ health, well-being and socio-economic inclusion. At an international level, countries agree under the ILO Convention C190 on Violence and Harassment that violence and harassment “[..] may prevent persons, particularly women, from accessing, and remaining and advancing in the labour market” (International Labour Organization, 2019[57]). While Egypt is not a signatory of this convention, the Penal Code was amended by Law No. 141 of 2021 to strengthen the legal framework on sexual harassment. Specifically, Article 306 bis B was introduced to clarify that acts of sexual harassment also encompass the use of a position of power to require sexual favours from a person. It also increases penalties for acts of sexual harassment, with specific provisions in cases where the perpetrator has occupational, family or educational authority over the victim/survivor (Government of Egypt, 2021[58]). Prior to these amendments, the legislation on sexual harassment did not explicitly apply to the workplace, leaving women particularly vulnerable to this common form of violence (CEDAW, 2021[23]).
Sexual harassment in the workplace is only one form of violence that can directly affect women’s ability to participate in the labour market and be economically empowered. Any act of violence may undermine women’s economic empowerment and well-being – either directly or indirectly through long-term physical, psychological, mental or economic consequences (OECD, 2023[59]). This is the case for women who are participating in the labour market as well as for those who are not. For instance, in the case of (domestic) economic abuse, the survivor or victim can be deprived of access to or control over essential or productive resources which can consequently undermine their agency and economic opportunities. Moreover, victims or survivors of gender-based violence often face social stigma and shame which can limit their ability to actively participate in education, employment and public life. In turn, this can negatively affect their income-generating activities (CARE International, 2018[60]). The accumulated income losses experienced by victims or survivors; the human capital development foregone; the decreased productivity as a result of the detrimental effects of gender-based violence; and the need to provide essential services such as shelters or counselling services for victims or survivors all add up to a high cost for governments (OECD, 2023[59]).
Women in Egypt can face violence in many spheres but it is most prevalent within the family. The 2021 Egypt Family Health Survey revealed that three in ten ever-married women aged 15-49 experience some form of spousal violence (CAPMAS, 2021[61]). A special module was developed to investigate this issue and it assessed emotional, physical and sexual violence. Generally, the results were similar to those observed in the 2014 survey, with an increase in violence experienced during the last 12 months preceding the survey: from 19% in 2014 to 24% in 2021 (CAPMAS, 2021[61]). A survey conducted by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the United Nations Population Fund and the NCW in 2015 calculated the economic cost of violence against women at approximately EGP 2.2 billion (USD 71.1 million) (CAPMAS, UNFPA and NCW, 2015[62]). A recent academic study examined the relationship between domestic violence and its consequent cost in Egypt and found that the economic burden of domestic violence is substantial and multifaceted, affecting not only individual survivors but also families and society at large (Hafez, Mounir and El Zeini, 2024[63]). Challenges related to measuring violence against women, such as recognising what violence is, and fear of retaliation, often result in under-reporting, meaning the real figures may be higher than those presented in official surveys (OECD, 2023[64]).
Egypt’s Constitution mandates the protection of women from all forms of violence, but national legislation still includes some gaps. Article 11 of the Constitution stipulates the state’s commitment to protect women from all forms of violence and the Government of Egypt has taken multiple measures to tackle it (OHCHR, 2021[65]; CEDAW, 2021[66]). However, the existing legal framework does not criminalise domestic violence, and Article 237 of the Penal Code provides for reduced penalties in case of honour crimes (Government of Egypt, 2014[1]; Government of Egypt, 1937[67]; OECD/ILO/CAWTAR, 2020[7]). As a result, women and girls remain unprotected from physical, sexual, economic and/or psychological abuse within domestic settings, which can contribute to the impunity of perpetrators. Legal frameworks that comprehensively address all forms of violence without any exceptions, mandate investigation and prosecution, and provide protection and services for victims and survivors are indispensable to end and prevent violence against women.
A strengthened institutional and policy framework will help to support the implementation of legal protections. In 2022, a draft law to combat all forms of violence against women was submitted to parliament (OECD, 2023[9]). If enacted, its implementation would require a robust policy framework. Revising Pillar 4 on Protection in the 2030 Strategy of Women could also provide the guidelines and resources needed for key actors responsible for implementation. The Government of Egypt has already improved its framework with the adoption of a National Human Rights Strategy, a National Strategy to Combat Violence Against Women, the National Strategy to Counter Female Genital Mutilation and National Strategy for the Empowerment of Egyptian Women (NCW, 2015[68]; NCW, 2017[69]; Government of Egypt, 2021[70]). Measures also included awareness-raising programmes and training for judges and prosecutors on violence against women as well as the creation of a one-stop shop for the protection of women victims of violence (CEDAW, 2021[66]; NCW, 2024[10]). Amendments of the Penal Code to end sexual harassment and female genital mutilation, and procedural changes to support the protection of identity of those who have experienced sexual violence were also important measures (UN Women Egypt, 2021[71]). The Ministry of Education and Technical Education also undertook several initiatives as part of its Women’s Health and Protection from Violence Programme (Arab Republic of Egypt, 2025[72]).
Policymakers – in close collaboration with civil society organisations and gender and women’s rights experts – should develop comprehensive legal and policy frameworks that address and criminalise all forms of violence against women and provide for protection and support services for victims/survivors. This could be operationalised by enacting a comprehensive law on violence against women that would define, criminalise and set penalties for all forms of violence – including all types of domestic abuse (physical sexual, psychological and economic) – wherever they occur. The CEDAW General Recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence, and ILO Convention No. 190 on violence and harassment at work, provide indispensable international benchmarks for the development of such a comprehensive law. Meanwhile, policymakers and legislators should eliminate existing gaps in Egypt’s national legislation that favour perpetrators’ impunity. Concretely, Article 237 of the Penal Code providing for reduced penalties in the case of honour crimes should be repealed and the definition of rape should be expanded to include marital rape specifically.
Legal gaps in domestic violence and particularly marital rape persist in all MENA countries. To close these gaps, MENA countries, including Egypt, could follow the examples of other countries that have recently amended their Penal Codes. For instance, in 2021, Gabon issued Law No.005/2021 amending the Penal Code to expand the definition of rape by recognising marital rape as an offence. Committing rape against family members or a spouse is considered an aggravating circumstance which comes with more severe penalties.
Experiences from other countries reveal that strict law enforcement needs to be combined with effective support for victims/survivors and the investigation of the crimes committed to protect women effectively in real life. An OECD report based on input from 35 countries offers guidance and practices on how government spheres such as health, housing, justice, employment, and education can work together to combat violence against women, particularly in private spheres (OECD, 2023[73]). It highlights Spain’s approach, which combines a strong legal framework, specialised courts, co-ordinated multi-sectoral services, nationwide emergency support, robust data systems, and widespread prevention efforts through education and public campaigns.
Egyptian policymakers should consider developing a dedicated action plan to accompany a newly enacted law on all forms of violence against women, as a revision of Pillar 4 on Protection in the Women 2030 Strategy. Moreover, a sufficient budget should be allocated to continue and expand indispensable policy measures which Egypt is already carrying out through various initiatives,6 such as: (i) sensitisation programmes and training for police, medical and social workers dealing with victims/survivors; (ii) provision of free legal aid for victims/survivors; (iii) setting up or expanding support infrastructure, including emergency shelters, medical and psychological support; (iv) and protection measures for victims/ survivors. Egyptian authorities should continue investing in initiatives that create an environment where violence against women and girls is not tolerated, and is quickly detected and prosecuted, and where victims/survivors are offered holistic services. Strong long-term political commitment to enforce and implement the law on all fronts, in collaboration with all actors involved, is required to improve women’s rights and lives both de jure and de facto, as Tunisia’s experience shows (Box 3.9).
In 2017, Tunisia enacted the landmark Law No. 2017-58 on the elimination of violence against women. This criminalised all forms of violence, including different types of domestic abuse; provided for free legal support for victims/survivors; mandated the setting up of specialised police units and training for police officers; established victims’/survivors’ rights to medical and psychological support and follow-up; as well as setting up emergency shelters and housing services. Five years after the enactment of the law, however, research by Human Rights Watch reveals that weak implementation of the law has left women still at risk of violence (Human Rights Watch, 2022[74]).
Egypt has made important progress in enhancing women’s rights, particularly in the area of economic empowerment, yet some legislative provisions and legal gaps continue to limit women’s full realisation of their rights relative to men’s. In certain communities, informal laws and practices may also affect the reach of statutory laws. Establishing equal rights for women and men in all areas relevant to economic empowerment is a fundamental first step towards enhancing gender equality in the economic sphere. This involves updating existing laws to address any gaps, clarifying and disseminating legal texts, and ensuring effective enforcement. Complementary policies and programmes that address unequal social norms and informal laws can further support women’s access to assets and labour inclusion. This section summarises the policy actions needed.
Recommendation 1. Update laws to actively promote women’s economic rights and access to assets
Egypt has introduced multiple legal reforms aiming to enhance women’s economic rights and promote gender equality in the economic sphere, including passing a new Labour Law in 2025. To ensure equal rights and economic opportunities for men and women, policymakers should update laws to close persistent legal gaps:
Policy consideration 1. Grant women and men equal inheritance and property rights in line with CEDAW recommendations, and strictly enforce existing legislation.
Policy consideration 2. Lift remaining limits on (non-pregnant) women’s employability in line with ILO Convention No. 111, which was ratified by Egypt.
Policy consideration 3. Continue the preparation and consultation process to enable the reform of the Personal Status Law, ensuring that constitutional gender equality principles are respected and integrated.
Recommendation 2. Revisit parental leave policies and continue efforts to expand social insurance coverage
The enactment of the new Social Insurance and Pensions Law in 2019 (Law No. 148 of 2019) and the new Labour Law in 2025 (Law No. 14 of 2025) represent milestones in Egypt’s efforts to have more inclusive social and labour laws and policies. In order to further these efforts, policymakers should:
Policy consideration 1. Develop a paid paternity or parental leave scheme that entitles and requires both parents to take paid leave to care for their newborn child.
Policy consideration 2. Continue efforts to increase the legal coverage of social insurance and implement strategies that incentivise social security registrations and contributions.
Recommendation 3. Strengthen the legal and policy framework to protect women effectively from all forms of violence
Egypt’s Constitution (Article 11) mandates the state to protect women from all forms of violence. Policymakers should consequently develop comprehensive legal and policy frameworks that address and criminalise all forms of violence against women and provide for protection and support services for victims/survivors.
Policy consideration 1. Enact a comprehensive law on violence against women to define and criminalise all forms of violence against women, and close persisting gaps in national legislation.
Policy consideration 2. Develop a dedicated action plan with sufficient budget to implement crucial policy measures and support law enforcement.
Recommendation 4. Address unequal social norms and informal laws and ensure stricter law enforcement
Persistent informal (uncodified) laws grounded in customs and long-standing traditions, along with restrictive social norms, can limit women’s access to assets and jobs. Building on ongoing initiatives to strengthen women’s economic rights, policymakers should:
Policy consideration 1. Design and implement initiatives to transform restrictive social and gender norms which are often reflected in informal laws.
Policy consideration 2. Set up specific reporting mechanisms to identify and address legal violations in order to strengthen law enforcement.
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← 1. “The Hanafi School is one of the four major schools of Sunni Islamic legal reasoning and repositories of positive law” (Warren, 2013[75]).
← 2. In general, in Egypt areas pertaining to personal status are governed by religious laws. For instance, in matters related to marriage, divorce or child custody, the non-Muslim religious minorities are free to follow their own laws based on the principles of their religion. The only exception related to personal status is inheritance.
← 3. Under the new Labour Law (Law No.14 of 2025), coming into force on 1 September 2025, gender-based discrimination is prohibited by Articles 5 and 53.
← 4. In 2015, women spent 5.4 hours per day on unpaid care and domestic work compared to 0.6 hours for men. In 2023, based on OECD calculations, women’s daily hours decreased to 3.5 hours per day whereas men’s remained stable at 0.6 hours.
← 5. The bylaws that implement the Social Insurance and Pensions Law (Law 148 of 2019) specify nine specific groups of workers who qualify as informal workers and are thus covered by the law. These are: landlords/landladies with income below the minimum bound; intermittent construction workers; self-employed workers, such as street vendors and mobile workers; domestic workers; Islamic religious instructors (in mosques); Christian religious instructors/singers (in churches); survivors of deceased entrepreneurs whose enterprises are no longer operative; intermittent agricultural workers; and landowners and those with land tenure who have less than one “feddan” of land tenure/ownership (Barsoum and Selwaness, 2022[56]).
← 6. Some specific policy measures and initiatives put in place by the Egyptian Government towards ending violence against women (EVAW) include establishing EVAW clinics within the department of Forensic Medicine, with doctors trained to deal with the cases of individuals subjected to violence; establishing Women’s Safety Medical Units in hospital universities to receive women who might have been subjected to violence; adopting a national referral pathway for essential services to be provided to women and girls subject to violence; establishing an EVAW unit within the Ministry of Justice; launching a “Safe Cities” programme to combat violence against women in public areas; and establishing Anti-violence Units in universities to provide reporting mechanisms, deal with the concerned parties and support the victims.