In May 1834, however, the Department of Civil Affairs (Divan-ɩ Hidiv) debated the matter and decided to abolish the tax and ban the whole trade from the city of Cairo. The shaykhs of the quarters were ordered to compile lists of the brothels in the quarters and of the prostitutes working there. The brothels were to be shut down and the prostitutes warned that on being caught practicing their trade they would be given fifty lashes of the whip, to be doubled if caught a second time.

QUESTION: Did the ban and whipping actually suppress prostitution in Cairo, or did it, like so many other decrees, fail in practice? This seems to be another gap between regulation and reality. Builds on: "Social dislocation and starvation drove Middle Eastern women into prostitution."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1167