Her research interests include but are not limited to: gender, state and resistance, gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive rights, domestic workers, migrant workers, and labour rights. It examines the different experiences and attitudes of sex workers by exploring the main features and dominant frames in the literature, and how it could be of relevance in the case of Egypt. Through conducting interviews with sex workers and other stakeholders, I argue that sex workers tend to perceive themselves as workers who should enjoy labour rights, except for those who consider religious guilt and shame as a barrier in being visible to the public.
The decriminalising of sex work diminishes state control and discrimination over the lives of sex workers in Egypt. She majored in gender and sexuality studies at SOAS, University of London, and she is part of local and regional feminist groups. She has participated in various poetry nights and festivals in Lebanon and abroad. As you roam the streets of Greater Cairo, outdoor sex work is quite noticeable, along with the presence of indoor and escort services.
However, due to their criminalisation and marginalisation, sex workers lack access to healthcare, as well as to social and legal protection. Sex work was legal in Egypt until A regulation used to organise the legal, medical, and social side of the profession.
Later on, Law 68 of was amended with a slight modification under Law 10 of , whereby the state outlawed sex work and considered it a crime. Nevertheless, this research is not concerned with numbers, as the nature of the project is qualitative. Many studies from the current existing literature argue that sex work should be regarded as work, and it should be decriminalised rather than legalised to guarantee their social and legal rights Gangoli ; McClintock , as well as, preventing state control.
For the purpose of my research, sex work includes, but is not limited to, prostitution, escorting, street hustling, stripping, and performing sex for videos and webcams Grant Although some could give up on their visibility in order to avoid religious guilt and shame, they still believe that other sex workers should claim their rights. In this light, sex work is a demonstration of one form of disciplining female bodies by criminalising their profession.
