Progress Amid Resistance

EGYPT 91included crucial steps toward gender equality, such as an increase in theminimum age of marriage to 18 and the criminalization of female genitalmutilation (FGM).Despite these advances, gender discrimination remains widespread inthe legal system. The penal code offers lenient sentences for men convictedof committing honor killings and defines the crime of adultery differentlyfor male and female perpetrators. The personal status law—which regulatesissues including marriage, divorce, and child custody—has long beenviewed as a major source of discrimination against women. And due toconservative interpretations of Shari‘a (Islamic law), the worth of a woman’stestimony in family court is considered to be half that of a man’s. Eventhe reforms that have been passed in recent years could be undermined inpractice by entrenched societal norms and a lack of effective enforcementmechanisms. For example, FGM is illegal, but it is still widely practiced,particularly in rural areas.The challenge in the years to come will be to adopt the institutionaland policy framework necessary to make the amended child law and othersuch reforms enforceable. Proper implementation will also require sensitiveand consistent awareness-raising and activism at the community level,as only social changes can make beneficial laws a reality in people’s lives.NONDISCRIMINATION AND ACCESS TO JUSTICEWhile some discriminatory aspects of Egypt’s legal regime have been hotlydebated and reformed in recent years, others have gone unaddressed. Thenationality law was amended in 2004 to remove a discriminatory provisionagainst a mother’s right to pass citizenship on to her children, andsocial dialogue has increased regarding the unequal worth of women’s testimonyin family courts. However, practical obstacles to equal access tojustice persist, and discriminatory penal code provisions related to honorkillings and adultery remain unchanged.According to Article 40 of the constitution, all citizens are equal, irrespectiveof race, ethnic origin, language, religion, or creed. 4 Article 40 doesnot explicitly mention gender, but it is commonly interpreted as protectingwomen from discrimination. In 2007, Article 62 was amended to call forminimum representation of women in the parliament, opening the doorfor the establishment of a quota (see “Political Rights and Civic Voice”).