Banning prostitution in Cairo aimed to protect army discipline and health

Evidence

That prostitutes were considered a menace more to discipline and health than to morals and good manners is also clear from the fact that they were prohibited from practicing their trade only in big cities and around the camps. When Flaubert visited Egypt in 1849–50 he knew that no prostitutes could easily be found in Cairo, that they had moved on to Upper Egypt and that “good brothels no longer exist[ed] in Cairo.” This ban on prostitution In Cairo was largely imposed for fear of its effect on soldiers’ health and their discipline. As lenient as the Pasha might have been in allowing the soldiers to bring their wives to live with them in Syria, no concessions were given in allowing them to solicit the services of prostitutes. This was true both for European officers “whoever they might be,” and for Turkish-speaking officers. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1169