World
08:56, 13-Aug-2017
National Council for Women in Egypt rejects a new bill that seeks to lower marriage age
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By CGTN Africa
The National Council for Women (NCW) in Egypt has rejected a bill that seeks to lower the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 years to 16 years, reports local newspaper Al Ahram.
According to the NCW, the bill will cause regression of women rights and delay further development in the country.
“It impedes all efforts by the state to overcome the problem of population explosion, and to prevent early marriage, and it does not guarantee the rights of women to complete their studies and choose their life partner,” read the statement.
The draft law proposed by an Egyptian Member of Parliament (MP) Ahmed Sameh will contradict the children law that defines children as those under the age of 18.
It will “impact [early marriage] on the health of women and children and hence society” and contribute to “the marginalization of the role of women in the development process, and public affairs,” says the statement.
Child marriage is a persistent issue in Egypt. Despite the current law mandating 18 as a minimum age, nearly 36 percent of marriages in remote areas and southern Egypt, according to studies by the NCW, include a partner who has not reached 18.