Baha’i children in Egypt facing discrimination

Every triumph Egyptian Baha’i community has achieved has been met with unwarranted objections, intolerance and rejection not only from the government and religious authorities, but by the public at large as well. Recently, the “Baha’i Faith in Egypt” blog reported that the Ministry of Education issued a statement that

“Egyptian schools cannot refuse the admission of any student based on his religion, but the only condition is Egyptian citizenship.”

While the question remained how Baha’is would be able to produce adequate proof of citizenship, it was a welcomed step forward. But barely three weeks later, “Egyptian Baha’i” reports the predicament of a Baha’i father who is incapable of enrolling his two young daughters to a private primary school. The school’s administration refused to accept the girls’ paper birth certificates, insisting that a computerized one is produced.

As we have been reporting in the past few months, it remains impossible for Egyptian Baha’is to acquire legal documents. When the father filed a petition with the Ministry of Education, the response was a source of disappointment; it affirmed the importance of presenting a computer birth certificate.

We call on Egypt, which recently passed a Child Protection Law, and was amongst the first nations to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to abide by its commitment to ensuring all citizens are treated equally. No child should be deprived of her/his right to an education.