In February the Egyptian government tried to sell its draft personal status law on a clause that would see men who did not inform their first wife they were marrying a second, fined up to EGP 50,000.On the surface it seemed a fairly reasonable suggestion, a closer look showed it was simply PR. The levy, approximately $2,000, was to be paid by the husband to the government.”What is the relationship between the government and the harm that was committed to the wife?” asks Committee for Justice advocacy officer Shaimaa Aboelkhir: “The fine should be for the wife, not the government.”When details of the draft law, which is a rework of an existing personal status bill, were published on Youm7 earlier this year, the article had to be removed due to the number of complaints.Some 300 organisations advocating for women’s rights renounced the amendments, pointing out that this was yet another attempt by the government to marginalise civil society since they were excluded from the drafting process.READ: Kuwait woman killed after refusing marriage proposalThe clauses were analysed and pulled apart by feminists, Islamic scholars, ordinary citizens and a large number of men, all of whom rejected it.”The law perpetuates the culture of discrimination on the basis of gender and insults and diminishes Egyptian women,” says Aboelkhir.The draft bill has been presented to the House of Representatives and is pending approval. If it is passed, any male within the family of a woman would have the right to annul her marriage within one year if she married without his consent.”Even if she loves this man and wants to live with him, she is completely deprived of her will and has no right to decide what her life or partner is,” says Aboelkhir.Journalist Sara Mohani says that because of this clause she is afraid to get married: “As a woman who is still single, this law fills me with dread and fear to marry, and it would make me think 100 times before I take that step. This law treats me as incompetent – I cannot marry myself even though I have passed the legal age and became an adult.”

Sorgente: How women in Egypt are defeating the government’s archaic legislation – Middle East Monitor

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