The legal framework of disability in Egypt

In Egypt, disability has frequently been viewed within the medical model framework, in which disability is defined as a biological disease, disorder, injury or other health problem. Hence, when forming disability law and policies, the focus is on how to prevent, treat and manage the individual’s impairment, and not on the physical and social barriers in the environment that prevent people with disabilities from being integrated into society. Whereas the focus of the medical model is to correct the impairments experienced by persons with disabilities and attempt to bring them back to the norm, by providing medical care and rehabilitation, (Mitra, 2006), the focus of the alternative social model is to address social, environmental, economic and cultural barriers they encounter in the health system, education, training, employment, working environments, transportation and housing.

The adoption of the medical approach is reflected in the first-ever Egyptian law related to disability, the Rehabilitation Law for persons with disabilities (Law No. 39 of 1975). This law focused primarily on the individual’s physical and functional deficiencies as the only cause of disability-related problems, ignoring the environmental, economic, social and cultural barriers. Concerning employment of people with disabilities, the law and its subsequent amendment (Law No. 49 of 1982), imposed an employment quota on all public and private sector companies with 50 workers or more, requiring that 5 per cent of their workforce be made up of persons with disabilities. An employer found in violation of this law would be subject to financial penalties (a paltry 100 LE fine) or imprisonment.

Although the Rehabilitation Law for persons with disabilities could be considered a significant step forward in promoting employment for persons with disabilities, quotas support the classical belief that persons with disabilities need particular provisions because they have medical impairments. Furthermore, although the quota guaranteed some jobs for persons with disabilities, it was restrictive in the sense of hindering them from participating and competing in the open labour market (Hagrass, 2005). Moreover, the provisions in this law specified only certain low-grade and menial jobs. These factors demonstrate that discrimination against people with disabilities inherently existed even in the law supposed to protect them. In addition, because the penalty fee was so low, employers could easily forgo hiring workers with disabilities, preferring to pay the penalty, with no risk of imprisonment. There are no records of actual imprisonment for employers found in violation of this law (Hagrass, 2012). Moreover, the procedures of recruiting persons with disabilities were limited to documenting papers rather than actual employment of those persons. In this way, persons with disabilities were asked to stay home and receive a minimum wage (Al Gazzaz, 2021). It is noteworthy that employment of people with disabilities was covered by the Rehabilitation Law of 1975 but not considered within Employment Law No. 137 of 1981; this indicates that persons with disabilities were not considered as a part of the labour market, and hence disability was a rehabilitation issue. This further confirmed the legal adoption of the medical model and the related exclusion of persons with disabilities from employment and society as a whole (Hagrass, 2005).

In 2007, when Egypt signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a new era began with respect to treatment of people with disabilities, which seeks to go beyond the medical approach towards recognizing the principal rights of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community (CRPD, Art. 19). This change is reflected in the amendments to the Egyptian constitution in 2014, which could carry new hopes for persons with disabilities. In the new constitution, people with disabilities are mentioned for the first time as equal citizens, in nine different clauses, ensuring their rights in all aspects of life and prohibiting disability-based discrimination. Furthermore, the core principles of the Sustainable Development Strategy, adopted in 2016, include the empowerment of people with disabilities. To achieve this goal, Egypt is committed to enhancing their rehabilitation, protection, inclusion and participation in all aspects of life. This commitment was highlighted in the president’s declaration of the year 2018 as the year of people with disabilities. It was also reflected in the Disability Rights Law, Law No. 10 of 2018 on the rights of persons with disabilities, which replaced the Rehabilitation Law for persons with disabilities of 1975.

The new Disability Rights Law is currently the main national legal framework for the rights of persons with disabilities, addressing the purpose and articles of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Accordingly, this new law asserts the responsibility of the Egyptian government towards the inclusion and social protection of persons with disabilities.

With respect to employment, under the new law, the government must guarantee the right of people with disabilities to acquire equal job opportunities without discrimination, and in accordance with their capacities, academic credentials and vocational training (Art. 20). Although the new law also imposes an employment quota of 5 per cent as in the previous law, it applies to employers with at least 20 employees (Art. 22), rather than 50 employees under the prior law. The employer who does not comply with the quota under the new law is also subjected to a financial penalty of not less than 10,000 and up to 30,000 LE and/or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year (Art. 54). Additionally, the law considers the needs of persons with disabilities within the workplace. It provides a paid one-hour work time reduction daily for workers with disabilities and for relatives (up to the second degree) who take care of an employee with disabilities. Furthermore, the new law stipulates punishments related to discriminatory behaviour, violence and isolation in the workplace. It also encourages employers to hire persons with disabilities by providing a 5 per cent reduction on income taxes for the employment of every person with a disability above the legal quota (Art. 23).