Same Sex Marriage

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Egypt face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.

Egyptian sexologist Heba Kotb estimates that 10% to 12% of the Egyptian population is homosexual. According to 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center, 95% of Egyptians believe that homosexuality should not be accepted by society.the Egyptian government did not support LGBT-rights legislation at home and objected to attempts, starting in the 1990s, to have the United Nations include LGBT-rights within its human rights mission. While the Mubarak regime did not support LGBT-rights, it did not enact an obvious ban on homosexuality or cross-dressing in the criminal code.

Within a year, the Egyptian government began a public crackdown on Egyptian gay men by raiding private parties, arresting the guests and charging them under the Prostitution and Debauchery law. This crackdown also saw the "Public Order and Public Morals" code being increasingly used to criminalize the sexuality of gay and bisexual men. The code, originally enacted in the 1990s to punish westernized students and liberal intellectuals, was now being used to punish gay and bisexual men.

The Egyptian government's response to the international criticism was either to deny that they were persecuting LGBT people or to defend their policies by stating that homosexuality is a moral perversion.