CAIRO: Amidst heated debate, the People's Assembly continued discussing amendments to Child Law 12/1996, which aims to extend the legal protection of children. On March 4, President Hosni Mubarak signed the final version of the amendments to the law, which were drafted by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, before it was sent to the PA. The session kick started with Parliament speaker Fathi Sorour announcing that the amendments regarding female genital mutilation (FGM) and the minimum age of marriage will return to the legislative committee for review after MPs submitted more than 60 changes to each amendment. The session heated up during a discussion of Article 54 which states that in cases where parents are separated, the person responsible for the child's education is the parent entitled to have custody of the child. Opposition MPs objected, arguing that in such cases either the father of the paternal grandfather must be made responsible for the child's education. However the article was approved by a majority 175 votes against 70 votes. In an unusual move, PA Speaker Sorour demanded that each MP vote individually by name to quell accusations of being biased towards the government or the National Democratic Party. They assembly then discussed a proposal by the opposition to reduce the age of legal accountability from 18, as stated in the draft law, to 15. "This article violates Sharia which states that a child matures when he reaches puberty which comes at the age of 15, said Muslim Brotherhood MP Sayed Askar. The PA overruled this proposal and refused any amendments to the clause. The Azhar-affiliated Islamic Research Council had previously approved the draft law vouching that it complies with Sharia. "The law protects children and grants them their rights as we are living in a society that is extremely violent and hostile towards children. This breeds children who grow up vindictive and become a criminals, Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour, member of the Islamic Research Council and former Deputy of Al-Azhar told Daily News Egypt. "These are excellent amendments and we all have to support them, he added. Furthermore, Ashour explained, "The ruler has the authority to prohibit something permissible in Islam if he thinks this will benefit of society. The most controversial amendments are those pertaining to illegitimate children, the minimum age of marriage and FGM. The proposed Article 20 states that any illegitimate child can be registered under the mother's name if the father is not present. The amendment was seen as a solution to parentage suits involving the children of unregistered urfi (common law) marriages. An amendment to Article 7 suggests raising the minimum age of marriage for females from 16 to 18. Under this clause, a marriage contract will not be registered officially unless the bride is 18 or above. "This is an excellent amendment as it guarantees that the female is mature, educated and ready to start a family, said Ashour. The article stipulates that any violation of minimum age is punishable by imprisonment for up to three months and a fine of between LE 100 and LE 500. The same article states that the couple-to-be must undergo a pre-marital medical examination to ensure that they are free of any diseases that may affect the health of their partner or that of their future children. As part of the continued efforts by the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood to combat FGM, a clause was added to Article 7 stating that anyone found guilty of conducting an FGM procedure will be sentenced to a prison term of between three months and two years or a fine of LE 1000 to LE 5000. Other amendments to the child law include the addition of a new article which exempts minors from the death penalty and the delay of the implementation of the execution of the death penalty on mothers of children under two years of age. Another proposal addressed the punishment of minors, suggesting that children under the age of 15 can only be kept in a juvenile detention center for a maximum of one week. The abandonment of minors, cases of sexual molestation, exploitation and the sale of their organs, is also criminalized. According to the new draft law, violators will be sentenced to prison for a minimum of five years and fined between LE 5,000 and LE 20,000.
