LONDON - A BBC Arabic investigation revealed that women wearing the hijab are being discriminated against in Egypt.

Several high-end establishments across Cairo, Egypt’s capital, refuse entry to women wearing headscarves, the investigation revealed.

The hijab even prevented some women and families from purchasing property in luxury townships. This practice appears to violate Egypt’s constitution, which bars discrimination on the basis of social class, sex, race, or religion.

"In most cases the main cause [for the discrimination] is classism," said Nada Nashat, a lawyer and women's rights activist quoted by the BBC. "So we find discrimination against hijabi women in venues that like to present themselves as upper-middle or upper class.

But we also find discrimination against non-hijabi women in lower and middle classes," she said, referring to women who wear the headscarf. Out of fifteen high-end venues in Cairo, the BBC revealed that eleven said headscarves were not permitted on the premises.