| Title | Egypt: Women targeted by association |
| Publisher | Amnesty International |
| Publication Date | 1 March 1997 |
| Country | Egypt |
| Topics | Arbitrary arrest and detention | Freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment | Persecution of family members | State of emergency | Women's rights |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MDE 12/011/1997 |
| Reference | Amnesty International is a worldwide voluntary movement that works to prevent some of the gravest violations by governments of people's fundamental human rights. The main focus of its campaigning is to: free all prisoners of conscience people detained an |
| Cite as | Amnesty International, Egypt: Women targeted by association, 1 March 1997, MDE 12/011/1997, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a9888.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Comments | Dozens of women have been subjected to human rights violations in Egypt, although their plight has rarely been publicized. They have been victims of arbitrary detention and torture, usually solely by reason of their marital or other family relationships. Members of the security forces, especially the State Security Investigations Department (SSI), have often taken wives and female relatives of Islamist activists effectively as hostages, especially in Upper Egypt, when they did not find the men wanted for arrest. They released these hostages usually after the person sought has given himself up to the police. Some wives of imprisoned Islamist leaders are repeatedly harassed by the security forces. They are routinely visited by SSI officers and their homes searched without warrant. In some cases they are arbitrarily arrested, taken to an SSI building and ill-treated. They are also pressurized to divorce their husbands who are arbitrarily detained or who are serving prison-terms, and to inform on other Islamist women. They are being punished for the activities of their husbands. This short report focuses on some cases of women who have been subjected to human rights violations, including a woman who was reportedly tortured on two occasions, another who has been administratively detained for over two years and a woman who 'disappeared' reportedly after having been arrested by security forces. Amnesty International has raised these cases with the Egyptian authorities but has received no substantive response. By highlighting these cases Amnesty International calls on the Egyptian Government to ensure that necessary measures are taken to prevent these violations, which risk developing into a widespread pattern, and draws the government's attention to its obligations under international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified by Egypt in 1982 and 1986 respectively. |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |