Egypt has moved a step closer in its plans to impose tougher penalties for dodging military service.
The defence and national security committee in the House of Representatives has approved government-backed amendments to the Military and National Service Act, raising fines and penalties for draft evasion and a failure to respond to reserve call-ups.
The draft law will now proceed to the full chamber of parliament for debate and final approval.
Under the updated provisions, people who evade conscription beyond the age of 30 could face jail and fines of between 20,000 and 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($420 to $2,200), instead of the current maximum fine of 10,000 pounds. Those who do not report for a reserve duty call-up without valid justification are to be subject to jail and fines of between 10,000 and 20,000 pounds, up from 1,000 to 3,000 pounds.
The amendments also revise Article 7 of the law, defining service in anti-terrorist and national security operations as being equal to wartime service.
An accompanying memo says the change acknowledges the sacrifices made by members of the armed forces and police in fighting against terrorism and protecting national security, when people have been killed or injured during such operations.
Committee members said the draft strengthened discipline and reflected Egypt’s constitutional requirement for compulsory military service. It aims to help the armed forces manage annual conscription efficiently, preserve adequate reserve numbers and maintain readiness in line with national defence needs.
The initiative mirrors the message delivered by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi during a Police Day address on January 24, in which he praised the sacrifices of police and military personnel and urged commitment to duty and national unity.
Egypt’s system of compulsory military service has deep historical roots stretching back more than two centuries. The country’s modern conscription policy traces its origins to Muhammad Ali Pasha, who introduced mandatory service in 1822 as part of his sweeping programme to build a modern state and standing army.
After early attempts to recruit Sudanese and Mamluk soldiers failed, he turned to Egypt’s peasantry, marking the first time native Egyptians were systematically drafted into the military under a centralised government.
The policy sparked widespread resistance, most notably a major peasant uprising in Upper Egypt in 1824, but it laid the foundation for the modern army and the state’s reliance on conscription as the backbone of its defence.
The system gradually evolved through the 19th and 20th centuries until a formal National Conscription Law was established in 1948, shortly after Egypt’s participation in the first Arab–Israeli War, and was later expanded in 1955 to institutionalise national service for able men aged 18 to 26.
The present framework, introduced in 1980, sets the duration based on educational qualifications and creates a structured reserve system.
