"Female delivery drivers in Egypt... Simple dreams beset by harassment and attempts to lure them away" 30 January 2026

Doha Mohammed, 31, who lives in the Qalyubia governorate near the capital, began working as a delivery worker in 2019...Women working in the delivery sector in Egypt face a variety of challenges, ranging from general challenges related to the nature of the profession and the surrounding conditions that anyone working in it may face, such as traffic accidents, fraud, and delays due to road conditions, among others. In addition, there are specific difficulties that women working in this field face simply because they are women...

Doha reveals that she has been subjected to digital harassment on several occasions because she had to post her number on Facebook to receive orders, as well as being subjected to verbal abuse and verbal harassment on the street for riding her scooter, which was linked to uncomfortable looks from some people in the working-class neighborhood where she initially lived... She tells Raseef22 that she has been scammed before and works long hours, up to 18 hours a day, during peak seasons (peak work and congestion) such as holidays, Ramadan, and New Year's...Since her divorce, she has been playing the role of both mother and father, and her freelance work, without a contract, insurance, or a fixed salary, does not exceed 4,000 Egyptian pounds (about $85) per month...

For her part, Rabha Fathy, chairwoman of the Egyptian Women Lawyers Association, says that delivery workers cannot be classified as regular employees under Egyptian labor law because they work irregular hours. She calls on the relevant authorities to register them and, if they work for companies, to hold those companies accountable for their rights, insure them, and ensure that they have legal protection...

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[Unofficial translation from Arabic to English provided by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]