Demands for tougher penalties against child marriage grow in Egypt
As child marriage spreads in Egypt, many observers and parliamentarians call for tougher penalties for anyone involved, while some believe that toughening penalties will not be a solution because there are many ways to circumvent laws.
CAIRO — A couple gets divorced every two minutes in Egypt, according to a report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics that was revealed by the head of the agency, Maj. Gen. Khairy Barakat, during a TV interview broadcast on Aug. 12.
Several members of parliament attributed this phenomenon to the spread of early marriage or child marriage in the country.
Sulaf Darwish, deputy of the parliamentary Manpower Committee, demanded in a press statement Aug. 12 that the punishment be increased for families who allow their sons and daughters to marry early, noting that the spread of this phenomenon directly threatens the lives and the future of Egyptian girls.
She said that marriage before the appropriate age has caused a spike in divorce cases, which in turn pressures family courts entrusted with looking into divorce cases and alimony cases for the divorced women and their children.
