Region | Egypt
Row over abortion right for rape victims in Egypt
With an estimated 20,000 cases of rape annually, some Egyptian lawmakers are pushing for giving rape victims the right to abortion.
- By Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent
- Published: 14:40 January 1, 2008
Cairo: With an estimated 20,000 cases of rape annually, some Egyptian lawmakers are pushing for giving rape victims the right to abortion.
According to the semi-official newspaper Al Ahram, an MP has presented a draft bill to the parliament demanding an amendment to the Egyptian law to allow pregnant woman, who has been raped, to go for abortion. The aim, according to MP Khalil Qouta, is to curb an increasing number of children of unknown parents in Egypt.
“Any girl or woman, who is subjected to rape, has the right in Islam to have abortion at anytime, and she would not commit a sin for doing this,'' said Egypt's top Muslim cleric Mohammad Sayed Tantawi.
Giving his blessing to the pro-abortion bill, Tantawi, who is the Grand Shaikh of Al Azhar, demanded that women given the right to abortion should have done their best to resist the rapist.
His fatwa (religious edict) has drawn opposition, though. “Endorsing the right to abortion in the cases of rape has several risks,'' said Fawzia Abdul Sattar, a professor of criminal law. "In the first place, this bill deals with the aftermath of the crime, but not the crime itself," she told Gulf News. “Legalising abortion for rape victims may well encourage immoral behavior on the part of girls involved in illicit affairs, who would manipulate the code and claim they were raped.''
Abdul Sattar also warns that some “unscrupulous'' medical professionals could take advantage of the bill to perform illegal abortion on immoral women. “Rather, we need to promote ethics and religious piety in order to encounter the crime of rape," she said.
Pro-life supporters, like Mohammad Rafaat, a professor of Sharia (Islamic Law), believe that abortion for the raped women should be conducted only in the first days before a fetus forms. "There is a consensus among Muslim scholars that the abortion is not permissible 120 days after the conception occurs." Rafaat urges the government to set up medical centres to treat victims immediately after they are raped. "This can help remove the effects of rape before the fetus is formed," he said.
“While supporting the right to abortion for raped women, Nehad Abul Qumsan, the chairperson of the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights, balks at the suggestion that abortion can be carried out at any time. Many women give birth to premature babies in the seventh or eighth month after conception. Should they be allowed to have abortion at this time?" she asked. “I think the issue should be resolved from the beginning and abortion restricted to cases when the fetus is not formed," she said.
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