Army school regulations punished desertion and homosexual acts with graded flogging

Evidence

Students who fled were given 200 stripes of the whip in addition to fifteen days in prison; NCOs were given 200 lashes and stripped of their rank if found committing homosexual acts; students, engaging in homosexual acts was punishable by 200 stripes and fifteen days in prison; officers caught committing the same offense were given 500 stripes and had their rank withdrawn from them. Teachers accused of engaging in homosexual acts were expelled from school altogether. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 844

Categorization

• QUESTION: Why was homosexual conduct explicitly criminalized in the military medical schools as opposed to other offenses — moral reform or hygiene concern?