Prostitution is illegal in Egypt. [1] The Egyptian National Police officially combats prostitution but, like almost all other countries, prostitution exists in Egypt. UNAIDS estimate there to be 23,000 prostitutes in the country, [2] including Egyptians, West African and Eastern Europeans. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Little is known about the practice of prostitution in ancient Egypt. The Turin Erotic Papyrus depicts women, possibly prostitutes, engaged in sexual acts with men. Permanent body adornment such as tattoos, appearing as dotted diamond shapes on the thighs of figurines and mummies, or as images of the god Bes, are seen on depictions of professional entertainers and prostitutes. Strabo, writing about Roman Egypt, recounts that daughters of noble families could be given into the service of the god Amun or Zeus; she was said to become a prostitute, engaging in sex with whomever she likes, until the onset of menstruation. [7]
As in the rest of the Roman Empire, prostitution was regulated. Prostitutes had to be registered [8] and taxes were collected from them. [9]
Prostitution was generally tolerated and taxed during this period, [10] the rulers taking the view that prohibition would not stop prostitution and that tax revenue would be lost. [10]
There were periods when prostitution was prohibited following pressure on the rulers from Muslim clerics. [10]
Under Ottoman rule, the regulation and taxation of prostitutes continued. [11] During the 17th century two guilds for prostitutes were set up. [11]
Prostitution flourished following the French invasion of Egypt in 1798. The French organised additional prostitutes brought over from Europe. [12] STIs spread rapidly through the brothels and this prompted the French authorities to introduce a law forbidding French troops from entering a brothel or having prostitutes in their rooms. Offenders received a death penalty. [12]
In 1834 Muhammad Ali Pasha outlawed prostitution [13] and female public dancing in Cairo. The prostitutes and dancers were sent to Upper Egypt, especially Kena, Esna and Aswan. [14] In 1837 he extended this to all of Egypt. [11]
Article 240 of the Mixed Penal Code of 1867 states: A pimp who incites young men or women below the age of 21 to evil practices leading to rape is to be punished by a period of imprisonment not less than one month and not more than one year. [12] Article 241 increases the penalty if the offence is committed by the father, mother or guardian of a minor. [12]
Following the abolition of slavery in Egypt in 1877-188 by the Anglo-Egyptian Slave Trade Convention, many recently freed female slaves turned to prostitution to survive. [10]
Many of the procurers and prostitutes who had accompanied the British and French troops to Constantinople during the Crimean war in the 1850s opened brothels in Port Said in Egypt during the construction of the Suez Canal, and these brothels was a destination for many victims of the white slave trade, since they were under protection of the foreign consulates because of the capitulatory privileges[ clarification needed ] until 1937 and thus protected from the police. [15]
After the British occupation of 1882, the authorities were concerned about disease spreading amongst the troops. They made legal provisions to control prostitution and introduced a system of healthcare. [12] [10] In July 1885 Egypt's Ministry of the Interior introduced regulations for the health inspection of prostitutes. [12] Further regulations were introduced in 1896 to control brothels. [12] [16]
Australian soldiers stationed in Egypt in World War I, including the famous half Chinese Australian sniper Billy Sing, [17] were major customers of Egyptian prostitutes in the local red light districts and brothels. High prices charged by prostitutes in Cairo led to the Battle of the Wazzir, a major riot by New Zealand and Australian soldiers that took place on Good Friday in 1915 in "Haret el Wasser", a street in the city's Wagh El Birket red light district. [18] [19] [20] The Australian military arranged for medical treatment for venereal diseases among its soldiers in Port Said and Cairo. [21] [22]
In 1932 a cabinet decree abolished licences for prostitution and established the "Public Morals Police". [12]
A new penal code was introduced in 1937 and included a section to punish men who lived off the earnings of prostitutes. [12]
In 1949 Military Order no. 76 was issued abolishing brothels. [12]
Law No. 68, introduced in 1951, penalizing: [12]
The prostitution system in Egypt often depends on pimping, although women also work alone. Pimps in Egypt organize the work of a group of prostitutes and receive a percentage of their profits. This is called "the network" in Egypt. This system is mainly used in Cairo and Alexandria and other big cities.[ citation needed ]
Nikah mut‘ah is a temporary marriage allowed under Shia Islamic law. The 'marriage' may last for a term of one hour to one year. It is sometimes used to circumvent the prostitution laws. [23]
Wealthy men from the Gulf states often holiday in Egypt in the summer months. Whilst there they may take a young, temporary bride (often under-age) in a so-called summer marriage. The marriages are arranged through a marriage broker and the girl's parents receive gifts and money as a 'dowry'. The marriage ends when the men return to their own country. [24]
As prostitution is illegal in Egypt, no taxes are paid. The legal punishment for adultery is a jail sentence of up to six months. For prostitution, the sentence is up to 3 years. [25]
Egypt is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Egyptian children are vulnerable to sex trafficking. People from the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait purchase Egyptian women and girls for "temporary" or "summer" marriages for the purpose of commercial sex, including cases of sex trafficking; these arrangements are often facilitated by the victims' parents and marriage brokers, who profit from the transaction. Child sex tourism occurs primarily in Cairo, Alexandria, and Luxor. [26]
Women and girls, including refugees and migrants, from Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East endure sex trafficking in Egypt. As of 2018 Syrian refugees settled in Egypt remained vulnerable to exploitation, including sex trafficking, and transactional marriages of girls—which can lead to sexual exploitation, including sex trafficking. [26]
The United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks Egypt as a 'Tier 2' country. [26]
Prostitution is legal in India, but a number of related activities including soliciting, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, prostitution in a hotel, child prostitution, pimping and pandering are illegal. There are, however, many brothels illegally operating in Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, and Nagpur, among others. UNAIDS estimate there were 657,829 prostitutes in the country as of 2016. Other unofficial estimates have calculated India has roughly 3 million prostitutes. India is widely regarded as having one of the world's largest commercial sex industry. It has emerged as a global hub of sex tourism, attracting sex tourists from wealthy countries. The sex industry in India is a multi-billion dollar one, and one of the fastest growing.
Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp or a madam or a brothel keeper, is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The procurer may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing and possibly monopolizing a location where the prostitute may solicit clients. Like prostitution, the legality of certain actions of a madam or a pimp vary from one region to the next.
Prostitution in Myanmar is illegal, but widespread. Prostitution is a major social issue that particularly affects women and children. UNAIDS estimate there to be 66,000 prostitutes in the country.
Prostitution in Greece is legal at the age of 18, and regulated. It is estimated that fewer than 1,000 women are legally employed as prostitutes and approximately 20,000 women, half of whom are of foreign origin and the other half are Greek, are engaged in illegal prostitution. Many women affected by the economic crisis have turned to prostitution through poverty.
Prostitution in Senegal is legal and regulated. Senegal has the distinction of being one of the few countries in Africa to legalize prostitution, and the only one to legally regulate it. The only condition that it is done discreetly. Prostitution was first legalised in 1966. UNAIDS estimate that there are over 20,000 prostitutes in the country. The average age for a sex worker in Senegal is 28 years old and female.
Prostitution in Argentina is legal under Federal law. Article 19 of the constitution states: "The private actions of people that do not offend in any way the public order and morality, nor damage a third person, are only reserved to God, and are exempt from the authority of the magistrates." Organised prostitution is illegal. In addition, individual provinces may place further restriction on the trade. For example, in San Juan, publicly offering sex services for money is punishable by up to 20 days in jail. In 2012, newspapers were banned from carrying classified-ads offering sexual services. UNAIDS estimated there to be about 75,000 prostitutes in the country in 2016.
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact with the customer. The requirement of physical contact also creates the risk of transferring infections. Prostitution is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or, colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. A person who works in this field is called a prostitute, and sometimes a sex worker, but the words hooker and whore are also sometimes used to describe those who work as prostitutes.
Prostitution in Pakistan is a taboo culture of sex-trade that exists as an open secret but illegal. Prostitution is largely based in organisational setups like brothels or furthered by individual call girls.
Prostitution in Poland is legal, but operating brothels or other forms of pimping or coercive prostitution and prostitution of minors are prohibited.
Prostitution in El Salvador is not prohibited by national law, but may be prohibited by local municipal ordinances. Municipal ordinances may also prohibit the purchase of sexual services. Related activities such as facilitating, promoting or giving incentives to a person to work as a prostitute (pimping) are illegal. The prostitution of children is also illegal. Brothel ownership, however, is legal. There are no specific laws against human trafficking, but any criminal offence that includes ‘commerce in women or children’ requires sentencing to be increased by 30%.
Prostitution in Nigeria is illegal in all Northern States that practice Islamic penal code. In Southern Nigeria, the activities of pimps or madams, underage prostitution and the operation or ownership of brothels are penalized under sections 223, 224, and 225 of the Nigerian Criminal Code. Even though Nigerian law does not legalize commercial sex work, it is vague if such work is performed by an independent individual who operates on his or her own accord without the use of pimps or a brothel.
Prostitution in Indonesia is legally considered a "crime against decency/morality", although it is widely practiced, tolerated and even regulated in some areas. Some women are financially motivated to become prostitutes, while others may be forced by friends, relatives or strangers. Traditionally, they have met with customers in entertainment venues or special prostitution complexes, or lokalisasi (localization). However, recently internet forums and Facebook have been used to facilitate prostitute-client relations. In recent years, child sex tourism has become an issue at the resort islands of Batam and Bali.
Prostitution in Lebanon is nominally legal and regulated. However, no licences have been issued since 1975. In modern Lebanon, prostitution takes place semi-officially via 'super night clubs', and illegally on the streets, in bars, hotels and brothels. UNAIDS estimate there to be 4,220 prostitutes in the country.
The legality of prostitution in Europe varies by country.
The legal status of prostitution in Africa varies widely. It is frequently common in practice, partially driven by the widespread poverty in many sub-Saharan African countries, and is one of the drivers for the prevalence of AIDS in Africa. Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire permit the operations of brothels. In other countries, prostitution may be legal, but brothels are not allowed to operate. In some countries where prostitution is illegal, the law is rarely enforced.
Prostitution laws varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions within a country. At one extreme, prostitution or sex work is legal in some places and regarded as a profession, while at the other extreme, it is considered a severe crime punishable by death in some other places. A variety of different legal models exist around the world, including total bans, bans that only target the customer, and laws permitting prostitution but prohibiting organized groups, an example being brothels.
Prostitution in Namibia is legal and a highly prevalent common practice. Related activities such as solicitation, procuring and being involved in the running of a brothel are illegal. A World Bank study estimated there were about 11,000 prostitutes in Namibia.
Prostitution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is legal but related activities are prohibited. The Congolese penal code punishes pimping, running a bawdy house or brothel, the exploitation of debauchery or prostitution, as well as forced prostitution. Activities that incite minors or promote the prostitution of others have been criminalised. The government does little to enforce the law. During the colonial era and the years that followed independence, the Ministry of Health issued calling cards identifying professional sex workers and provided them with medical health checks. However, this system was abandoned in the 1980s. Public order laws are sometimes used against sex workers. Street prostitutes report harassment, violence and extortion from the police. UNAIDS estimated there are 2.9 million sex workers in the country.
Legality of prostitution in the Americas varies by country. Most countries only legalized prostitution, with the act of exchanging money for sexual services legal. The level of enforcement varies by country. One country, the United States, is unique as legality of prostitution is not the responsibility of the federal government, but rather state, territorial, and federal district's responsibility.
Prostitution in American Samoa is illegal, as are related activities such as brothel keeping and pimping. These acts are punishable by law, including a fine of more than $500 or a jail sentence of up to a year for customers of prostitution. Prostitution occurs in bars and nightclubs, and in boats moored in the harbours.