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Egyptian People's Assembly Approves Child Laws, Makes FGM a Crime

by René | June 11, 2008 at 09:39 pm | 254 views | 1 comment | 10 recommendations
By Safaa Abdoun and Lina Marwan

First Published: June 8, 2008

CAIRO: The People’s Assembly approved amendments to Child Law 12/1996 drafted by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) after months-long debates.

One of the most welcome articles was one criminalizing FGM, stipulating a fine of LE 1,000–5,000 or a prison sentence of between three months to two years for anyone found guilty of conducting a Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) procedure.

This article was unanimously approved after a clause was added making the practice permissible in cases of “medical necessity.”

The amendment to raise the legal age of marriage of girls from 15 to 18 was transfered to the Family Law, against opposition, for fear it would never be enforced.

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generaldecay
generaldecay
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 23:28 on June 11th, 2008

René, thank you for the update to this story, Rene. This is great news for women in Egypt.

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June 11, 2008 at 09:39 pm by René, 254 views, 1 comment

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