Egypt’s draft constitution a “ticking bomb” for women’s rights

By Joseph Mayton
Bikya Masr

"CAIRO: Egyptian women’s groups have again lashed out at the draft constitution to go to a referendum on December 15, saying it is a “ticking bomb” that threatens the very nature of equality and women’s rights in the country.
The movements have called the referendum “void” as it “crashes the aspirations of the people and the principles of the revolution”.
The local feminist organization, Baheya Ya Masr, has said that by pushing the constitution forward without widespread national consensus is a threat to women in the country.
The group said they feared that the constitution would pave the way for “political Islam,” which they argued would leave out most basic principles of democracy and transparency.
The group said in a statement published on Tuesday that they have observed through reading the draft that it will leave women on the outside of their basic rights.......


Women’s rights have become a major focal point in the new constitution, with a number of conservatives on the assembly pushing to revoke many of the gains achieved in the years leading up to the Egyptian uprising, including divorce rights, economic rights and the age of marriage."