WUNRN
Egyptian Center for Women's Rights
EGYPT - WOMEN CALL FOR RIGHTS, NOT
PROMISES
8 January 2013
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http://womensenews.org/story/law/130112/egyptian-constitution-provides-little-protection
EGYPT - WOMEN CALL FOR CONSTITUTION THAT PROVIDES GENDER EQUALITY
& RIGHTS
A secular Egyptian woman outlines the disappointments written
into the country's new constitution, passed in late December. Women have had
only one legal advance since the revolution: prosecuting sex harassment.
(WOMENSENEWS)--Egypt's new constitution leaves Dooa Abdallah
feeling left out.
"I
don't see myself as an Egyptian citizen in this constitution. I don't see my
future in this constitution," she said.
Abdallah
voted against the proposed constitution and now says it must not be left in its
current version. It won't be easy to change, she says, but she hopes to see the
text challenged through "legal ways and on the streets."
Abdallah is
the Middle East and North Africa regional coordinator
for the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics
(iKnow Politics) and a board member of an international solidarity network called Women Living
Under Muslim Laws. She spoke with Women's eNews in a recent Skype
interview from Cairo, where she is based.
Like many
Egyptian critics of the ruling Islamist party, she says the new constitution
drafted by the Muslim Brotherhood was too rushed and resulted in a
document that neither represents Egyptian society nor challenges the status quo
that gripped the country for decades under former-President Hosni
Mubarak.
"The
text should be reflecting the notions of equality and freedom, but the
constitution is now only reflecting the conservative philosophy of the Muslim
Brotherhood . . . If we keep the same economic system, if we keep the same
political system, if we don't give people their rights, why then was there a
revolution and people lost their lives?" she asked.
The Egyptian
constitution drafted by the Islamist party, the Muslim Brotherhood, was
approved by a two-round referendum on Dec. 22 and signed into law by Egyptian
President Mohamed Morsi a few days later. The
final text removed a clause that specifically guaranteed equality for women in
the country and refers only to citizens, saying they are "equal before the
law and equal in rights and obligations without discrimination."
Confirmed
to Family Sphere
The approved
constitution states that honoring women is essential to a dignified nation.
However, the text only refers to women as sisters and mothers, speaking of them
purely within the framework of family and not offering room for women in the
political and societal spheres.
Article 10,
which states that family is the basis of society, and is founded on religion,
ethics (morality) and patriotism, says the state will provide mother and child
services for free and guarantees women access to health, social, economic care,
inheritance rights and harmony between her family duties and public life.
Abdallah
said that the Arabic version of the constitution is full of contradictions
regarding the notion of equality and freedom, which are emphasized in the
English version.
For example
in the Arabic version, article 43 guarantees freedom of belief and article 45
guarantees freedom of thought and opinion, but article 44 prohibits insulting
prophets. This blasphemy clause is inherently contradictory to the rights
guaranteed by its adjacent articles, important to the secularists.
Article 44
has sparked concern as the number of trials for blasphemy has been on the rise
in Egypt over the last few months.
Abdallah
said the constitution is also dangerous because it maintains the right of
military courts to judge civilians and the misuse of Islamic laws. When
religion enters into the political sphere, she said, "you can easily
manipulate people and that's why it's important to remove the religious
dimension from the formula. That's not the duty of the government to tell us
how to worship God or how to pray."
"I have
seen in many places around the world where Islam and religion are being used to
abuse women and minorities' rights," she added.
A
Significant Gain
But while
the constitution has spread widespread disappointment, women do have one
significant legal gain to celebrate. Since the revolution, Egyptian women have
begun daring to bring cases of sexual harassment to court.
Samira Ibrahim
paved the way after soldiers detained her on March
2011 and subjected her and other female protesters to forced "virginity
tests" for protesting in Cairo's Tahrir Square against Mubarak's regime.
The 25-year-old marketing manager sued the military, and last year a civilian
judge ruled the humiliating practice illegal. However, in March,
a military tribunal acquitted the doctor who allegedly performed the
"virginity tests." Ibrahim has sworn to pursue the case using
international law.
On Nov. 13,
an Egyptian man was sentenced to two years in prison and fined a further 2,000
Egyptian pound ($328) for sexually assaulting a woman in Maadi, a suburb of
Cairo, in July of last year. The verdict was seen as a small victory for women.
Harassment
of women is legendary in Egypt, but silence has been the rule as women feared
to bring "dishonor" and "shame" upon their families. With
the revolution, the underreported phenomenon has come under the international
spotlight as women, including many foreign female reporters, were sexually
attacked in Tahrir Square.
The National Council of Women Chief
Mervat Tallawy said
recently that Egyptian women are harassed on average seven times every 200
meters (656 feet).
Hajer
Naili is a New-York based reporter for Women's eNews. She has worked for several radio stations and publications
in France and North Africa and specializes in Middle East and North Africa.