Click to expand Image A man with a physical disability builds mobility products for underserved communities in Cairo, Egypt, August 8, 2017. © 2017 Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters (Beirut) – People with disabilities in Egypt face systemic barriers to their right to work amid poor implementation of a 2018 disability rights law, Human Rights Watch said today. They face discriminatory hiring practices, inaccessible workplaces, barriers to obtaining a national disability card, ineffective job quotas, and underpaid sham roles that deny them work and fair pay.A 2018 law significantly improved the legislative framework for disability rights in Egypt, bringing it closer to international standards. However, many reforms face serious obstacles to implementation, leaving those with disabilities at higher risk of unemployment, poverty, and economic insecurity. The government proposed amendments to the law in 2025, currently before parliament, which risk restricting the definition of disabilities and the fulfillment of rights. “Egypt’s 2018 law on disability rights was a critical step, but the law’s implementation has left many excluded from the workforce, facing perpetuating unemployment and economic marginalization,” said Amr Magdi, senior Middle East and North Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Inclusion demands more than legislation. It requires the government enforcing the law, monitoring, and training employers, and making workplaces accessible.”Human Rights Watch interviewed 17 people, including 13 with disabilities, as well as a representative of an international humanitarian organization, 2 representatives of independent Egyptian organizations working on disability rights, and a former senior government official. Human Rights Watch wrote to the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity on April 7, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.Based on a 2022 government national survey, people with disabilities in Egypt constitute about 11 percent of the population, or roughly 12 million people, though disability prevalence may be underreported due to stigma, under-identification, and barriers to disclosure.Forty percent of those surveyed who were age 4 or older did not receive any education (compared to 27 percent of total population in a different 2018 survey) and only 17 percent had finished secondary education, compared with 59 percent of the male population over age 25. Of people with disabilities surveyed, 49 percent did not work. An independent 2019 study concluded that 80 percent of people with disabilities lived below the national poverty line, compared to about 30 percent of the total population. Law No. 10 of 2018 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities offered for the first time a rights-oriented legal framework on disability. The law requires employers with a minimum of 20 employees to allocate 5 percent of jobs to people with disabilities, in contrast with the prior 1975 disability law, where the minimum was employers with 50 employees. It provided a penalty of 10,000-30,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately US$190-570) and/or one-year in prison for noncompliance.The government does not publish periodic statistics on compliance, as mandated by law, though official statements indicate authorities collect this data. The authorities should periodically publish comprehensive data on people with disabilities, including employment status and indicators of multidimensional poverty, Human Rights Watch said.All 13 people with disabilities and disability rights experts interviewed described a widespread practice of employers fraudulently employing people with disabilities without assigning them real work, often at lower salaries, to fulfill the quota. According to the 2022 national survey on people with disabilities, 32.2 percent of those survey said they were employed but not assigned to work. This practice reinforces harmful stereotypes that people with disabilities cannot contribute to the workplace, while denying them equal access to meaningful work, fair pay, economic independence, professional development, and workplace inclusion, Human Rights Watch said.One man with a hearing disability said a bank hired him in 2025, alongside about 100 others with disabilities, without interviewing them. He said bank officials told him he would receive 4,000 pounds (US$80) monthly, well below Egypt’s minimum wage, without working. “Over the past four years, I felt neglected,” he said. “I have skills that I was not able to use or improve. I decided to quit.” Some of those interviewed said they were assigned work unrelated to their qualifications and which did not reflect their skills. A disability rights activist with a hearing disability said a prominent communication company had him delivering breakfast despite his two university degrees. Of those surveyed in the 2022 national survey, 34 percent said they believed employers rejected their job application because of disability and 63 percent could not find suitable work. People interviewed said workplaces were commonly not accessible. One man who uses a wheelchair said he turned down a job offer due to lack of reasonable accommodation, including a ramp and an accessible toilet. Some said that they frequently faced social stigma and discrimination, including authorities and employers’ perceptions that people with disabilities are incapable of work or are less productive. “They see us as incompetent people, but we are people with disabilities who only need tools to enable us to fulfill work,” said a woman with a hearing disability who said she was repeatedly rejected from jobs for which she met the requirements. People with disabilities said they routinely experienced misunderstanding and workplace bullying from colleagues. One woman with a hearing disability said colleagues thought she was ignoring them when she could not hear or understand. People with disabilities in Egypt also face barriers registering for the Integrated Services Card, a prerequisite for accessing government services, medical care, social housing, tax and customs exemptions, education benefits, and jobs reserved for people with disabilities.Based on the 2018 law and its by-laws, unemployed cardholders in poverty can receive around 700 pounds (US$14) monthly through Karama, a social protection program. However, by the end of 2025, only about 10 percent of people with disabilities in Egypt (1.3 million) had obtained the card. The 2022 national survey found that roughly 70 percent of people with disabilities did not know the card existed.The Social Solidarity Ministry, which issues the card, claimed in 2024 that many do not apply. However, those interviewed described prohibitive challenges, including a lengthy process of up to a year or longer, high costs for medical tests not available at government hospitals, and a requirement to repeat the full process when renewing the card. Disability rights activists said that, in some cases, the ministry applies restrictive criteria to limit eligibility. Human Rights Watch reviewed a Health Ministry directive instructing medical facilities to assess hearing loss for applicants using a hearing aid with a wand, according to the degree of dB loss, in a manner that may narrowly limit eligibility, particularly because disability should be understood through social and environmental barriers, not solely through a medical assessment. In March, the ministry announced steps to remove some hurdles.Under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Egypt ratified in 2008, the state has an obligation to ensure equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Governments are required to promote inclusive employment policies and provide reasonable accommodation to enable people with disabilities to have employment opportunities that are equal to those for other people. Egypt also has an obligation to ensure the right to social security without discrimination.“Denying people with disabilities equal access to work, inclusive workplaces, and social security perpetuates poverty and deprives Egyptian society of untapped talent,” Magdi said. “Investing in accessibility, training, and meaningful inclusion, doesn’t just change lives: it strengthens the economy and builds a fairer future for everyone.”