05/12/2026
Thank you
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights - المبادرة المصرية للحقوق الشخصية for your attention to the systematic institutional discrimination and exclusion faced by Egyptian Baha'is, most recently compounded by a Court of Cassation ruling that overturned a prior judgment which had recognized the validity of a Baha'i couple's marriage, leaving Baha'i citizens with virtually no legal recourse to secure even their most fundamental rights.
We echo the Initiative's statement: "The government’s failure to provide a legal solution to this ongoing crisis is merely one component of a broader exclusionary policy pursued by state executive agencies against Egyptian Baha’is, who are an integral part of Egyptian society."
🟠 The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) condemns the ongoing systematic discrimination against Baha’i citizens, which has been reinforced by a recent ruling from the Court of Cassation. The court decision overturned a lower court ruling that had recognized the marital relationship between a Baha’i couple, following an appeal filed by the Ministers of Justice and Interior and the Civil Status Authority.
🟠 Failure to record the correct marital status in official identification documents creates daily hardships for Baha’is, including difficulties in obtaining pensions in cases of death, problems in inheritance distribution, and the inability to register as spouses in professional syndicates and health insurance systems. It further complicates dealing with schools where children are involved and with banks as couples. Additionally, it prevents non-Egyptian spouses of Egyptian Baha’i citizens from obtaining family residency permits in Egypt and, in some cases, deprives Egyptian Baha’i mothers of their right to pass on their Egyptian nationality to their children when married to non-Egyptians—a right granted to all other Egyptian mothers.
🟠 EIPR holds the state’s executive bodies fully responsible for the daily suffering endured by Egyptian citizens across all aspects of their lives solely because of their religious affiliation, and reaffirms that Egyptian Baha’is are entitled to full citizenship rights.
🔗 Read the full statement: https://tinyurl.com/2awhkmy8
