By Dr Radhasyam Brahmachari
Egypt was once the pioneer in the liberation of women in the Arab world. “The Liberation of Women”, the first Arab feminist manifesto was published in Cairo as early as in 1899. And by 1920s, women were dropping veils; by 1960, the country had more female doctors than many in the West. They won the right to vote and entered politics in 1956 and even secured a ban on the horrible practice of female circumcision. At that time, a new bill called the “Personal Status Bill”, that sought to establish absolute equality between men and women was in the pipeline. Unfortunately, then came the war with Israel and the move died.
In those days of political turmoil, a conservative tide, spearheaded by Islamic fundamentalists, snatched away most of the rights women had won so far. Under a constitutional amendment in 1980, Islamic law was enshrined. As a result, women were reduced to the status no better than that of pet animals of males. For example, the practice of female circumcision was reintroduced. In medical term, it is nothing but a surgical operation that removes a part called clitoris of the female genital. At present, hundreds of Egyptian girls die every year due to excessive bleeding from the traumatic operation. In 1994, CNN telecast such an operation worldwide and sparked a heated debate in the Egyptian parliament. Egyptian Mufti, topmost religious authority in the country, appealed to members of the parliament for banning the practice. But the fanatic Islamist leader of the Al-Azhar University, Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq, promulgated a fatwa directing the Egyptians to continue the practice and the parliament also honoured his edict. Read more ...
Egypt was once the pioneer in the liberation of women in the Arab world. “The Liberation of Women”, the first Arab feminist manifesto was published in Cairo as early as in 1899. And by 1920s, women were dropping veils; by 1960, the country had more female doctors than many in the West. They won the right to vote and entered politics in 1956 and even secured a ban on the horrible practice of female circumcision. At that time, a new bill called the “Personal Status Bill”, that sought to establish absolute equality between men and women was in the pipeline. Unfortunately, then came the war with Israel and the move died.
In those days of political turmoil, a conservative tide, spearheaded by Islamic fundamentalists, snatched away most of the rights women had won so far. Under a constitutional amendment in 1980, Islamic law was enshrined. As a result, women were reduced to the status no better than that of pet animals of males. For example, the practice of female circumcision was reintroduced. In medical term, it is nothing but a surgical operation that removes a part called clitoris of the female genital. At present, hundreds of Egyptian girls die every year due to excessive bleeding from the traumatic operation. In 1994, CNN telecast such an operation worldwide and sparked a heated debate in the Egyptian parliament. Egyptian Mufti, topmost religious authority in the country, appealed to members of the parliament for banning the practice. But the fanatic Islamist leader of the Al-Azhar University, Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq, promulgated a fatwa directing the Egyptians to continue the practice and the parliament also honoured his edict. Read more ...
Source: Islam Watch
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