The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and the New Woman Foundation stated that the refusal of some hotels to allow women to stay alone constitutes a blatant form of discrimination against women, aimed at imposing social and moral guardianship. The organizations reiterated that the move represents a concrete obstacle to women’s right to mobility, work, and, more broadly, to equality. This problem arises from the absence of clear anti-discrimination and equality legislation that fully implements the constitutional provision in Article 53, and that sets out clear pathways for filing complaints and obtaining redress. The existence of an equality and anti-discrimination commission would have provided a framework for reviewing discriminatory laws, policies, and practices in general, and would have legally supported victims of discrimination, offering a swift and effective mechanism for redress.

The two organizations said that the incident in which a hotel in Port Said Governorate refused to book a room for journalist Alaa Saad is not an isolated case, but rather a recurring practice by several hotels and motels, particularly those licensed by local authorities, whether due to administrative or security instructions.

They added that the refusal, by those responding to complaints and inquiries via the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ hotline, to file a complaint for the journalist—and instead attempting to classify her request as an “inquiry about the hotel policy”—is an example of administrative policies that have no constitutional or legal basis and which create an enabling environment for discriminatory practices. This forced the complainant to travel to Port Said, where she filed complaint No. 152 (East Port Said – administrative). The prosecution listened to her statement and, according to the journalist, stated that it lacked jurisdiction and that the Administrative Prosecution might be the more appropriate body for submitting such a complaint.

Despite several days having passed since the incident, specialized national councils - such as the National Council for Human Rights and the National Council for Women, which are mandated to intervene in such violations - have not fulfilled their role in supporting the complainant, nor in addressing governmental and private institutions to ensure adherence to the clear constitutional principles of equality and non-discrimination.

The executive regulations of Law No. 8 of 2022 regulating hotel and tourism establishments require, in Article 13, that such establishments “allow citizens or foreigners to enter or stay in the establishment, and comply with instructions issued and approved by the competent ministry, without discrimination on the basis of religion, belief, gender, origin, ethnicity, color, language, disability, social status, political or geographic affiliation, or any other reason”. This must be applied to all hotels regardless of their ownership, affiliation, or classification, with responsible authorities supervising hotel compliance and establishing an easy mechanism for complaints and informing complainants of the outcomes.

EIPR and the New Woman Foundation reiterate their demand that the government adhere to the clear constitutional requirement to establish an equality and anti-discrimination commission, along with accompanying legislation that prohibits discrimination and ensures the commission’s independence and effectiveness.