1905560 (Refugee)

The applicants, a family of five, sought a protection visa. The dispute centred on the applicants' claims that if returned to Egypt, the daughters would be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) and that the mother would be accused of attempting to convert her daughters to Christianity, leading to the children being taken from her and raised by their grandparents. The case was heard by Melissa McAdam.

The court was required to determine whether the applicants met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically whether they faced a real risk of significant harm if returned to Egypt. This involved assessing the credibility of the applicants' claims regarding the practice of FGM, the potential for religious persecution due to the mother's actions of taking her daughter to church, and the availability of effective protection measures in Egypt. The court also considered the complementary protection criterion under s 36(2)(aa) of the Act.

The court reasoned that the applicants' fear of persecution was well-founded. It found that while FGM is officially discouraged in urban areas of Egypt, the practice persists in rural villages, often performed by untrained individuals. The court noted that the applicants' strict Sunni Muslim families insisted on FGM for their daughters, viewing any deviation from religious norms as a serious transgression. The mother's secret visits to a church with her ill daughter, intended as a prayer for healing, were misinterpreted by her family as an attempt to convert her children to Christianity. This, coupled with the family's traditional views on gender roles and the perceived defiance of religious customs, created a real risk of significant harm, including the forced circumcision of the daughters and the mother losing custody of her children. The court also considered that reporting such issues to the Egyptian police would likely be ineffective.

The decision under review was remitted.