The Ministry of Labour has banned Egyptian women from working in hospitality and domestic jobs in other countries, especially in the Gulf, sparking nationwide debates about the reasons for the decision and the failure to find alternatives for low-skilled women who are badly in need of work outside their country.
Taken on 1 April, the decision makes it impermissible for recruitment agencies operating in Egypt to send Egyptian women for hospitality jobs, such as café waitresses, baristas, counter staff and food and beverage servers.
It also bans the work of local women in private homes as housekeepers, home cooks, caregivers, personal assistants, home nurses or household managers.
Recruitment agencies that violate the ban would be punished with suspension, according to the decision.
It aims to regulate the overseas labour market and protect the rights, dignity and safety of Egyptian women from potential exploitation or unsuitable working conditions, the Ministry of Labour says in a statement about the decision.
The new move followed reports from the Egyptian Labour Representation Office in Riyadh about women working in roles that violate existing rules, it adds, noting that the new ban aims to ensure that employment opportunities outside Egypt align with professional standards and safeguard the rights of Egyptian women.
Nevertheless, the same decision has sparked massive debates in cyberspace and on the ground.
"What can a woman do if she can't find a different job? Should she steal or work in prostitution?" a woman asked on Instagram in a comment on the ban.
"There are no disgraceful jobs. Sitting and doing nothing is disgraceful rather than working any job," another wrote . Critical issue The work of Egyptians in other countries, especially in the Gulf, is a serious issue in this country, given its significant contributions to the national economy.
Remittances from Egyptians working abroad are the most important source of national income, second only to exports.
Egyptians working in other countries sent $41.5 billion in remittances back home last year, a 40.5% increase from the previous year.
In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, which started in July 2025, Egyptian expatriate workers sent $25.6 billion in remittances to their country, a 28.4% increase from the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year, according to the Central Bank of Egypt.
Millions of Egyptians work abroad, with the vast majority swelling the ranks of foreign labour in Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The Egyptian government estimates that between 10 and 14 million people are working in other countries. However, some more conservative estimates put the number of expatriate workers at between 2 and 9 million.
Approximately 3.3 million of these expatriate workers are in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including 1.8 million in Saudi Arabia and 666,000 in Kuwait.
This is why the work of Egyptians in other countries is also a social issue, with a sizeable number of Egyptian families contributing to this expatriate workforce, economists say.
"The same expatriate workers sustain all these families, the reason why everyone here follows new rules for the work of Egyptians abroad very closely," independent economist Ali al-Idrissi said.
Speaking to The New Arab , he underscored the importance of the nation's expatriate workforce.
"Remittances from this workforce are a basic pillar of national income," al-Idrissi said. Deep reasons The Egyptian Labour Representation Office in Riyadh has not released a full public report with detailed findings about Egyptian women working in Saudi Arabia.
Instead, the Egyptian Ministry of Labour cited reports and observations from this office as the main trigger for the 1 April ban.
In its report, the office highlights the work of some Egyptian women in jobs that violate existing Egyptian regulations for overseas labour, according to the Ministry of Labour.
The ministry added that the office had mentioned cases of women placed in roles that lack sufficient legal protections, guarantees, or suitable working conditions, which raises concern about potential exploitation, abuse, or non-compliance with approved labour contracts.
The 1 April decision also came after the emergence of social media comments , testimonies and videos about Egyptian women doing what some Egyptians view as inappropriate work in other countries, including in cafés and nightclubs.
This is why there is considerable support for the Ministry of Labour's decision to prevent local women from doing such jobs abroad, mostly expressed by people who consider these jobs harmful to Egypt's reputation. Lack of support This is not the first official Egyptian attempt to prevent local women from working in hospitality jobs or in private homes abroad.
In 2006, then Minister of Labour Aisha Abdelhadi banned Egyptian women from working as housemaids in other countries.
Over the years, however, the decision shrivelled and died, apparently as Egypt frayed under its tough economic conditions, its control over citizens working abroad waned, and some local women found it hard to find jobs in their country.
The new decision is, meanwhile, coming under fire by people who accuse state authorities of adopting a patriarchal attitude that gives Egyptian women limited leeway to work wherever they want and do whatever they want so long as they do not break the law.
It is unclear how the Egyptian government will enforce the decision outside Egypt, especially for Egyptian women already working abroad.
But some people have criticised it for failing to address the root causes behind some local women doing jobs viewed as inappropriate, namely rising poverty and the lack of jobs for these women inside Egypt.
Around 6.2% of Egypt's workforce of 34 million was unemployed in 2025, even as national unemployment rate estimates are much higher.
Local NGO Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights faulted the new decision for seeking to protect local women through prohibition rather than through effective regulations and the creation of a safe work environment.
"While a ban may stem from a place of concern, it fails to address the root causes of the problem and often yields counterproductive results," the centre said.
It added in a statement that these counterproductive results include pushing women towards illegal migration routes, empowering unlicensed brokers and human traffickers and infringing on the fundamental right of freedom of movement and the right to work.
Other detractors say the government had opted for the easiest solution: prohibition.
"State authorities should have offered support to women travelling to do these jobs outside Egypt by giving them alternatives inside their country," Dalia al-Sanhouri, a member of the National Council for Women, Egypt's women's rights watchdog, told TNA .
"They could also have regulated the work of local women in these jobs to ensure that they would not fall prey to human traffickers or be forced to get involved in inappropriate practices," she added.