Curious after Egypt airport experience

[WhyCantIFigureThisOut]

Just returned from a trip to Egypt and the airport experience on the return was definitely interesting!

Besides other instances at the airport, at security (liquids check, bag scanners), men & women are split. Men have the pick of 4 lanes to move through, while women have just 1 lane*. The split is because as is their culture, female staff cannot do a body pat down on a male, and vice versa. The 'enforcing' of the men/women split was very strict - at one point a 3yr old boy wasn't allowed to wait in the queue with his mother and was asked to go through the male line alone.

Now - arguably, this is their culture and forewarned is forearmed etc. But... if one is trans, which line would one go in? Would beliefs trump culture and foreign security protocol?

(*And yes, let's not get into the annoyance of only 1 line for women- we had to queue for nearly an hour 😂😂)

If one is Trans but has not had the op, I would question whether Egypt was a great destination . But obviously you would go to the line for the sex you were assigned at birth.

Seriously, being Trans would not get you any points if you were patted down by an Egyptian woman, and found to have male genitalia.

You don’t mess with other countries security .

Transgender in Egypt probably means jail.

Sorry you had a long wait fir security compared to the men. I once breezed through security in Jeddah because the ladies’ queue was unstaffed. No checks. What.So.Ever! Bit of a shock to me given that I normally have to go through secondary screening. 🙄

Sex recorded at birth.

I sometimes wonder if transwomen would visit countries where (if it were otherwise safe) women can't drive/go to school/cover up/go out without a male escort/.....

seeing as to be gay in Egypt itself is, if not explicitly illegal, probably near as much as , i would think this isn't something thats likely to happen!

I'm not at all sure about that. The country with the 2nd highest number of ' sexual reassignment surgeries' is Iran. Exceeded only by the USA. Both Christian and Muslim extremists like to trans the gay away.

I wonder if the woman who wants an X in her passport thinks about these kinds of issues? Have forgotten her name.

<waves from Cairo>

Dd1 once wandered absent mindedly into the wrong line when we were heading back to the UK for Xmas (they don't always have separate lines).

6', slouching in a huge hoody & jeans, short green hair. Has a rather unisex shortened name that could be easily mistaken for an Arabic boy's name eg like Sammy could be Sameh...

I was marching through the correct door calling 'yalla Sammy!' over my shoulder.

Looked back to see an elderly security guard patting my 14yo daughter's breasts...just as he realised his mistake.

His look of horror was quite something to behold (as was dd1's, to be fair).

Yeah, I'd say it's usual to go through the door relevant to your sex 🤣.

sorry what does this even mean?

Do they ever get the sex wrong at birth?

Sex is observed and recorded, it’s not ‘assigned’

on very very rare occasions a baby will be born with a visible difference of sexual development in which case tests are carried out to determine biological sex - which is then recorded

We flew back from Egypt earlier this year and had no segregation and all went in the same queue both at security and passport control. We are a mixed sex family. It did take forever having our photos taken going through passport control but the same man did all of us. The X-ray machines and scanners we also were all mixed sex queues.

Weirdly post missed off my first line - we live in Cairo 🐪

I doubt visiting Egypt is a trans woman is a very wise choice.

Frankly, it's not a country I'd visit without my husband and given the regular terrorist attacks on tourists not sure I'd do so even then.

The split is because as is their culture, female staff cannot do a body pat down on a male, and vice versa.

I've travelled a great deal and don't think I've ever been patted down by a man in any country- only by female security staff, even in the UK, so not sure what you mean by your comment OP?

Absolutely this. In other countries you have to play by their rules.

In other countries you have to play by their rules.

Unless you're an American trying to force us to adopt "non-binary" that is. Notice how that's being done here, and not another location.

I agree. I live very close to Mexico less then an hour. It is constantly in the news Americans are jailed because they think being American saves them from rules. Also the guy who tore down the flyer in Korea...and so many more

In UK Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 Section 3A

states "A rub-down or strip search shall not be carried out except by a person of the same sex as the suspect; and an intimate search shall not be carried out except by a suitably qualified person."

I've had the same experience going through security at Marrakesh airport although it was just 1 line for men and 1 line for women so both were equally slow.

“TERF island” of all places. Makes you think doesn’t it.

If I were trans, I don’t think Egypt would be in the top ten of my travel destinations so would t worry about it

I’m really confused about the 3 year old having to go through the male line at all, let alone without his mother. At that age he’s still very much a young child and wouldn’t be separated from his mummy.

Im not convinced at all that it happened.

Same. Pat downs are always done by someone of the same sex, it's got nothing to do with it being their culture.

Also, generally in Egypt, the place is over run with men so 1 lane for women and 3 lanes for men makes sense. Women from my experience spend most of their time at home doing 'wifey' things. Outside of the house the ratio of men to women is actually really quite shocking. I've never encountered so many middle aged men, smoking, staring and hanging about in my life. It's really rather intimidating. It's the only place I've never had to queue to use the toilet whilst my husband has!

Not having men pat down women isn’t a cultural thing, it’s just plain respect!