Evangelicals decry Egypt’s new Easter paid leave policy

Egypt’s new decree granting Easter paid leave to Christian private-sector workers has drawn condemnation from Evangelical leaders and rights advocates for excluding public employees and dividing holidays by denomination. A legal petition is now pending before the Administrative Court seeking full recognition of Easter Sunday as a national public holiday for all citizens.

The Dec. 30 ministerial decision introduced Easter leave for private-sector Christian employees, a first in Egypt’s legal framework, where Sunday is otherwise a regular workday, according to the legal advocacy group ADF International, which welcomed the move as a step forward in protecting freedom of worship.

However, the leave does not apply to those working in the public sector, including government institutions and schools. Christian employees in those sectors must still attend work or class on Easter Sunday, forcing many to choose between professional obligations and observing their most sacred religious day.

ADF International calls for national recognition of Easter, in line with Islamic holidays observed across both the public and private sectors. The case cites Egypt’s constitutional guarantees of religious freedom under Articles 53 and 64, as well as international treaties that prohibit religious discrimination in employment.

Advocates say Easter was previously recognized as a national holiday under the monarchy, and that such recognition continues in several other Middle Eastern countries. They argue that reinstating that status in Egypt would reinforce equality in civic life and religious observance.

The 2026 decree sparked backlash for codifying different leave entitlements for different Christian sects, granting five holidays to the Coptic Orthodox Church and only three to Catholic and Evangelical communities, according to Manassa News.

Lawmakers and rights defenders say this classification revives sectarianism not seen since the 1950s, when Egyptian documents listed a citizen’s denomination and public holidays included Jewish observances. Critics argue the policy ignores Egypt’s official stance that religious denomination is not recorded on national IDs and contradicts the constitutional principle of equal citizenship.

MP Nancy Naeem, of the Republican People’s Party, publicly questioned the legal basis of the sectarian allocation. She accused the Ministry of Labor of introducing unnecessary division and asked who had advised such a move.

Rights lawyer Khaled Ali criticized the language of the decree, objecting to terms like “Christian brothers” and the division of holidays by sect. He said the policy violated Egypt’s 2014 Constitution, which prohibits religious discrimination, and warned that such official language signals institutional bias.

Ishak Ibrahim of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights called the policy legally lazy, noting it appeared to replicate a 1953 framework designed for a different religious and political era. He was quoted as saying that today’s celebrations of events like New Year’s Day are national, not sectarian, and added that Easter is already designated a national holiday by the 2026 presidential decree.

The decree also omits holidays widely celebrated across Christian traditions, such as the Feast of the Ascension and Epiphany. Critics say that framing Easter as a sectarian rather than a national holiday erases the diversity of Egypt’s Christian population and deepens the marginalization of minority sects.

Evangelical and Catholic leaders expressed optimism that the decision could be changed through dialogue.

Bishop Ishaq was quoted as saying that the church remained hopeful that Egypt’s political leadership would revise the policy in line with justice and equality.

A final court hearing is expected to examine whether the current leave structure imposes unequal burdens on Christians and contradicts both domestic law and Egypt’s commitments under international labor and human rights agreements.

An earlier Open Doors report said Christians in Egypt continue to face difficulties establishing churches and places of worship, even as the government has legalized a growing number of churches through official registration. The report said Christians, Shia Muslims, Ahmadis and other minority faith groups face legal and administrative restrictions that constrain how they express and practice their beliefs.