Court refuses to recognise marriage of Baha’i couple together for almost 45 years

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights hasreported that the Civil Affairs Department of the Appeal Court in Cairo, Egypt has refused to legally recognise the marriage of a Baha’i couple who have been married for almost 45 years, on account of their religious belief.

In a verdict issued on 27 January 2026, the court upheld an appeal against the legal recognition of the couple’s marriage submitted by the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Justice and the Head of Civil Affairs Authority.

CSW sources report that while the verdict was initially kept confidential, activists in Egypt began raising the case in mid-April after the government issued an executive directive rejecting previous court decisions that recognised Baha’i marriages. The directive instructs the civil affairs authority to mark married Bahais as ‘single’ in any civil status documents. This was discovered when some Baha’is needed to renew their IDs or obtain other documents.

The couple was married on 5 September 1981 in a family ceremony, during which they signed an informal marriage certificate alongside two witnesses. In 2020 they appealed to the Family Court to register their marriage, and their appeal was accepted on 16 August that year.

In its verdict, the Appeal Court said: ‘There is a difference between the freedom of belief guaranteed by the constitution and the legal consequences of this belief. Freedom of belief means that an individual may adopt whatever beliefs they wish, provided that this does not disturb the public order and the stability of the state. The Baha’i faith is not a heavenly religion, and practicing it involves harming the established systems in the state. Therefore, it is not permissible to register it in civil status documents or in any other official documents issued by any official body. The legal texts regulating all these rules are considered part of the public order; it is not permissible therefore to prove anything that contradicts or conflicts with them.’

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘This verdict sends a very disappointing message and adds to a body of legislation that effectively criminalises personal conscience and undermines Egypt’s constitutional obligations towards its own citizens. It dismantles the fundamental rights to civil status and freedom of religion or belief, particularly for the most vulnerable members of Egyptian society. CSW stands in solidarity with this couple and calls upon the Egyptian authorities to reform the legal system by removing all laws discriminating against the Baha’i community and all other unrecognised faith groups.’