Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 83rd ILC session (1996)

1. In its previous direct request, the Committee raised Order No. 22 of 1982, which lists the jobs which may not be performed by women. The Committee, referring to, in particular, paragraph 144 of its 1988 General Survey on Equality in Employment and Occupation, which deals with the legitimacy of protecting women workers against the biological risks which they face as women, pointed out that the Order protects women beyond the protection against risks to their reproductive role. The Government states in its report that the Order does not prohibit the employment of women in industrial work. However, it adds that, taking into consideration the physiological nature of women, the Order provides for their protection from work in certain industries which may endanger their health. According to the Government, with the exception of the industries mentioned in the Order, women are treated exactly as men in all types of employment. The Committee is sensitive to the needs of different countries when examining special measures of protection of women; its position as set out in Chapter III of the above-mentioned General Survey echoes that of the International Labour Conference in its 1975 Declaration on Equality of Opportunity and Treatment for Women Workers, namely that protection should aim at improvement of the conditions of all employees and special measures for women should be taken only for work proved to be potentially prejudicial to reproduction, and that such measures should be reviewed periodically in the light of advances in scientific knowledge. The Committee would therefore ask the Government whether the long list of jobs which are considered in Order No. 22 to be dangerous for health and morals, or too arduous to be performed by women, might be reviewed, so that it does not unduly restrict equal opportunity for women in access to these occupations and trades.

2. The Committee asked the Government to report on the concrete measures taken to apply a national policy to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of women, in the light of article 11 of the Constitution which provides that women shall have the means to reconcile their duties towards the family with the work in society "without prejudice to the provisions of Islamic law". The Government points out that this provision is not discrimination, but rather takes into consideration the role of a working woman as a wife and mother. It adds that all national laws "strive to help women combine both roles as best as possible". The Government explains that the basis of Egyptian legislation is the Islamic Shari'a, which does not discriminate between men and women in employment. The Committee stresses that the Convention, while providing that the obligation to promote equality in employment and occupation must be carried out "by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice", requires that each Member for which it is in force declare and pursue a national policy to eliminate any discrimination in this respect based on, inter alia, sex. It would therefore appreciate receiving in the Government's next report details of the national methods being used to ensure women's equality in employment and occupation, including statistics on labour market participation disaggregated by sex, which the Government undertakes to send in its reply to the observation on this Convention. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would supply copies of any national report on the situation of Egyptian women that might have been prepared for the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in September 1995.

3. For a number of years the Committee has been requesting specific information on the activities in practice of placement services, the Ministry of Manpower and Vocational Training and, in particular, the Social Development Fund in applying the principle of the Convention. It notes that the Government intends to transmit this information as soon as it is received from the competent authorities, and looks forward to examining examples of practical studies and training material.