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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters No escape clause for rapists
By Mariz Tadros
Under the existing law, a rapist has the choice of either facing criminal charges or marrying his victim. Article 290 of the Penal Code stipulates that rape is punishable by death, but Article 291 states that if a rapist offers to marry his victim and she agrees, criminal charges are dropped and he is set free.
For rapists who have basked in the confidence that they can get away with their crime, the free ride is soon going to be over. The cabinet has approved a draft law to annul Article 291. Minister of Justice Farouk Seif El-Nasr has strongly supported the cancellation, affirming that the controversial provision "has encouraged criminals to commit acts of assault on women, and undermined women's right to protection and security." He added that it was high time the law was changed to stop criminals from exploiting the psychological devastation of victims and their families.
The law came under fire in December from Sheikh Nasr Farid Wassel, the Grand Mufti of the republic, for giving rapists the opportunity to escape punishment. He said that any marriage between a rapist and his victim was "null and void". Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mohamed Sayed Tantawi shared the same position.
Rifaat Osman, head of the comparative jurisprudence department at Al-Azhar University, said that giving the rapist an opportunity to dodge punishment is against religion and is an act of injustice to the victim. He also questioned the legitimacy of a marriage under such circumstances: "marriage is supposed to be built on the principle of amity and mercy (mawadda wa rahma) and this condition is obviously absent [in a marriage between a rapist and his victim]. Furthermore, the full and free consent of both parties is required, which is also obviously lacking when a woman is obliged to marry her attacker."
Opponents of the change argue that, in view of traditional and social values, clause 291 offers women el-satr, or protection from being stigmatised in society, and also preserves family honour.
However, women activists have lashed out against those who attach greater importance to "family honour" than to the victim's dignity and psychological well-being. "So instead of raping her once, he can rape her over and over again," said Nehad Abul-Komsan of the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights. She believes that clause 291 has enabled "frustrated, unemployed youths to hit the jackpot by raping a woman. They will not only marry their victims without incurring any financial obligations, they can also make all sorts of financial demands before agreeing to a divorce." In many instances, a raped woman and her family would plead with the rapist at the police station to simultaneously sign marriage and divorce papers, in order for the woman to avoid the "scandal" of being unmarried and not a virgin.
Some of the most atrocious rape crimes have gone unpunished because of clause 291. There have been many incidents of women being gang-raped, with their assaulters going free simply because one of them offered to marry the victim. Feminists argue that abrogation of clause 291 would eliminate one of the most serious violations of women's rights. However, the approval of the People's Assembly is still required.
