Egypt’s Member of Parliament Nisreen Omar has called for new regulations governing women’s entry into hospitals, while also proposing the use of DNA testing to help verify children’s identities.
In a statement made during a phone interview with the TV channel Hya on Sunday 19 April, Omar urged authorities to ensure that any woman entering a hospital unveils her face, alongside implementing iris scans for hospital staff as a security measure to prevent unauthorized entry.
Beyond hospital security measures, Omar said she has proposed conducting DNA tests for every child to accurately establish their identity.
She compared the suggested approach to the footprint recording that is currently documented on birth certificates, saying the goal is to better maintain lineage and provide stronger proof of identity.
She then added that DNA testing should be a mandatory requirement within premarital procedures, framing the proposal as a way to protect children and ensure identity verification.
Omar also reiterated the need for rules specifically addressing the entry of niqab-wearing women into hospitals by saying that “the face of any woman entering a hospital must be disclosed as part of these procedures, coupled with the application of iris scanning for hospital workers to reinforce access control and reduce the risk of unapproved entry.”
Her statement follows an incident that happened on 15 April, where a newborn baby was abducted from Al‑Hussein University Hospital after an unidentified woman approached the exhausted mother and offered to help hold the child.
Trusting her, the mother briefly handed over the baby, but the woman took advantage of the moment and disappeared from the hospital with the infant. The incident triggered an immediate police investigation, with security forces reviewing surveillance footage and launching a search operation that ultimately led to the child being safely recovered.
Omar emphasized that, although this incident went viral, similar cases are not widespread in Egypt and remain limited to isolated occurrences.
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