Egypt proposes new laws April 23, 2008
Posted by jewaira in Health, Life, Motherhood, News, Women.trackback
There have been some interesting developments in Egypt with regards to women’s rights.
The proposed new laws concern the following:
1) Raising the legal age of marriage for girls to 18.
2) Female genital mutilation is a crime punishable by law (otherwise known as female circumcision)
3) And most controversial but thrilling of all, unwed mothers can register their newborn on their own and give the infant their own name. That means if a woman has a child out of wedlock, she can still legally register it as her own.
Arabic Link:
wow….
The third one is something!
Is that possible in Kuwait?
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Not to my knowledge.
This is certainly an extraordinary move that has received alot of criticism and public outcry especially by traditionalists who argue it will encourage promiscuity and the break up of the nuclear family.
This proposed law though is amongst many that are in the process of being created to protect children’s rights.
Jewaira
I am so glad female circumcision is now a crime. There’s no excuse for such blatant vandalism of the human body.
And the unwed mother thing is great, I think it’ll give a chance for so many newborns to function normally when they grow.
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Female circumcision or female genital mutilation is a blatant crime against women and their bodies that endangers both her physical and psychological well being.
It is a horrible transgression against a woman’s body that is practiced in many countries in Africa (I am not sure where else it is practiced)
Jewaira
I cannot believe it. I am wonderfully astounded.
A law allowing an unwed mother to register her child in her name protects her child even more than herself.
When I was a young girl, an Egyptian friend of my sister and I disappeared for a couple of weeks and later told us she had been circumcised. The details to our little ears were horrifying and we only understood that razors had been taken to her most private part and she had suffered in ways we could not imagine ( I still can’t). I am a grown woman now and this proposed law has been a long, long time coming, it’s already too late but thank God for it just the same… Here’s praying it becomes permanent.
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Yes, MsBaker, these are all reforms designed to protect children in the end.
Why should a child not know who his mother is just because of a social stigma? And why should illegitimate children pay for the “mistakes” of their parents?
With regards to female circumcision, it has been a law long overdue.
Jewaira
I bet your next article will be on that tunisian woman ;p
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Which Tunisian woman? The one who killed her husband and ate him?
Jewaira
No this one
link
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Now that is really outrageous!! Wallah feshla
J
ya7lailhum
wala women in egypt have always taken big steps in the womens rights movement
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Remember the big fuss made about khul3 (wife’s right to divorce her husband)?
Jewaira
FGM is beyond belief that any society would think it a good thing. It’s astounding that it isn’t prosecuted as a capital crime everywhere in the world. To me it is right up there next to rape!
I had no idea that a child was denied his birthright because his parents might not be married?
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Christina
In most cases, a child out of wedlock is considered a bastard and extramarital or premarital sexual relations are punishable by law.
Jewaira
1. How are they going to implent this? Child marriages are a serious problem in the East. Perhaps if folks had something other than marriage to look forward to, like a decent education, we wouldn’t have child marriages.
2. FGM is disgusting. It is beyond repulsive. I say apply capital punishment to the perpetrators of this horrible crime.
3. There is no such thing as an illegitimate child, only illegitimate parents.
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Yes, adults do disgusting things in the name of tradition.
When laws are in place, the next step is to worry about implementation.
Jewaira
That is fantastic, I hope these laws do get applied, some appalling things have happened because the laws aren’t their to protect the rights of people!
We need some laws to be adjust in Kuwait, not just the damn baladiya laws!
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Yes Marzouq
We need to open people’s eyes to needed reforms and we’re not talking about money handouts from the government.
J
This is definitely a wonderful news. I agree wholeheartedly on those laws and hopefully they will cross the sea to the Arabian Peninsula.
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Yes, Angelo. We need to see many reforms in the region
J
Updates here on this proposed law
رغم موافقة شيخ الأزهر ودار الافتاء عليها
حذف مواد النسب للأم والختان وسن الزواج من قانون بمصر