Court acquits hotel manager who refused room to female journalist traveling alone
A misdemeanor court in Port Said acquitted a hotel manager of a gender discrimination charge after he refused on Jan. 4 to book a room for a woman journalist on her own. The manager claimed that internal rules barred women from checking in without a companion. The incident sparked broad rights and feminist solidarity at the time.
The ruling is likely to deepen concern among rights advocates, who say it could embolden hotels to keep restricting women traveling alone despite legal protections against discrimination.
The Public Prosecution had referred the hotel manager to trial over the incident at Al Safwa Utopia Hotel in Port Said, saying his conduct constituted discrimination on the basis of sex and violated the principles of equal opportunity and social justice.
Although the hotel manager admitted during the prosecution investigation that he had refused to accommodate the journalist, Alaa Saad, and criminal investigators confirmed the incident, the court found no criminal intent.
It said the requirement that women be accompanied by a male guardian or family member was based on internal hotel rules “for protection and to prevent any practices punishable by law,” and did not amount to criminal discrimination or abuse, according to the reasoning for the ruling published by Saad on Sunday evening.
Mohamed Napolion
https://manassa.news/en/news/31086