Cairo -
A wide controversy was sparked by re-talking about the proposal to increase the penalty for wife beating in Egyptian law, which a deputy in the House of Representatives announced readiness to put forward during the coming period, and the communication sites and media witnessed a wide interaction between supporters and opponents, and the controversy extended to include criticism and an attack on Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed The good.
Representative Amal Salama had previously spoken about the proposed amendment several times during the past year, but she announced a few days ago that she was able to obtain the approval of a quorum (60 deputies), and that she had submitted the proposal to the General Secretariat of the House of Representatives in preparation for submitting it to the Legislative Committee.
Salameh suggests amending Articles 242 and 243 of the Penal Code, to include toughening the penalty for physical assault by either spouse on the other, to become imprisonment for a period of no less than two years and not more than 3 years.
The deputy was widely criticized when she presented the proposal for the first time, because it was limited to penalties for men only, which contradicts the constitution, which provides for equality in rights, freedoms and public duties, as well as the concept of the abstract legal base.
The amendment also states that “in the event that there is a case of stalking or the use of sharp tools or one of his relatives, and the assault causes a permanent disability, the penalty ranges from 3 to 5 years in prison, and a fine of no less than 100,000 Egyptian pounds (one dollar equals 15.71 pounds).”
Salama says that some men believe that beating increases his manhood in front of his wife, pointing out that recent studies indicated that about 8 million Egyptian women are subjected to violence, and 86% of wives are subjected to beatings, according to the latest statistics of the National Council for Women.
Religious and legal controversy
In turn, Al-Azhar University professor Mabrouk Attia said that wife beating is fixed in the Qur’an and Sunnah with specific controls, criticizing those who described them as civilized beatings who explain the beating mentioned in the Qur’an by leaving the country to his wife.
Attia stressed that the intended beating in Islam is the beating of discipline that does not leave a trace, describing that whoever hits his wife harshly is a criminal who is only deterred by law and imprisonment, through a video broadcast on his Facebook page.
For her part, Amna Nasir, Professor of Faith and Philosophy at Al-Azhar University, said that when a man commits an act of beating his wife, he destroys with his own hands all the meanings of humanity between them.
Some criticized the proposed amendment from a legal point of view, especially that the Egyptian Penal Code already includes what addresses the issue of harm resulting from beatings, and that in the event of a desire to toughen the penalty for beatings, this will be in general, and not only with regard to husbands and wives, it is a fortiori to allocate a law to confront assault on Parents.
In an article entitled "The Egyptian wife.. the hearts are protected before the laws", the journalist writer Wajih Abdel Aziz believes that the demand for mandatory imprisonment for the husband would prevent the judge from using his discretionary power to inflict punishment within the limits set by the law, and give precedence to the interests of the family. Giving the opportunity to settle their differences amicably away from the courts, especially if the husband is the one who takes care of the maintenance of his family.
Abdel-Aziz believes that the data and statistics that the representative relied on to submit the amendment are greatly exaggerated, especially with regard to the rate of wife assault reaching 86%, calling not to fuel a qualitative division within society.
In this context, broadcaster Amr Adib devoted a long time to his talk show for two consecutive days to discuss the issue, and Monday evening's episode witnessed the daring to attack Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb because of his previous opinion about the reality of wife beating in Islam.
In a telephone interview, the head of the National Council for Women, Maya Morsi, said that the opinion regarding the husband’s discipline of his wife is insulting, inciting, underestimating beatings and accepting violence, considering that these matters are completely inconsistent with the constitution and Egyptian law.
Morsi added that assaulting a woman is a crime punishable by law, commenting, "There is no proper intention for a husband to beat his wife. This is violence and the word discipline, which was repeated more than once yesterday and today, does not exist in the law or Sharia."
Regarding the circulation of the statement of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar that “the treatment of the wife’s rebellion is the husband’s beating of his wife on condition not to break the bones and harm,” she explained that Al-Tayeb had another statement in which he said that “violence against women is evidence of incomplete understanding, blatant ignorance, lack of chivalry and forbidden by Sharia.”
She stated that any draft law presented regarding husbands beating their wives should be linked to a stiffening of the penalty because it is not sufficient, noting that the problem lies in the woman's reconciliation with her husband when the case reaches the police.
For his part, Islam Beheiry, a researcher known for stirring controversy on Islamic issues, criticized the Sheikh of Al-Azhar for his opinion on the issue of beating women, and said that the opinion of the Egyptian constitution is more important than any other opinion, he said.
In televised statements, Beheiri, who had previously served a prison sentence on charges of blasphemy, said that the woman's disobedience mentioned in Surat An-Nisa talks about marital infidelity and has nothing to do with women, discipline and discipline, saying that the wife is not a school student and the husband is not an observer.
Beheiry claimed that what the grand imam said was "words that do not concern us completely, and in the end an advisory opinion, his words are wrong and create a jungle state that has nothing to do with Sharia, and against the constitution, which is stronger than anyone in Egypt."
The Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, had clarified that the last medicine described in the Holy Qur’an to treat the wife’s rebellion is the husband’s beating of his wife conditional not to break the bones and harm, explaining that transgression is forbidden, and is punishable by law.
During a previous episode two years ago of the “Sheikh Al-Azhar talk” program on Egyptian television, the Sheikh of Al-Azhar said that beating wives is not an obligation, nor a Sunnah, nor a representative, but it is a permissible matter to confront the disobedient wife and break her pride in order to preserve the family from loss and homelessness, and he also confirmed that the issue is his. controls and conditions, and that this permissible can be overlooked if harm results from its use.
Al-Tayeb said that this topic was misunderstood and the Qur’an and the correct Islamic jurisprudence were unfair on this issue, because the word “beating” has a heavy impact on the human soul, which does not accept that a person should be beaten by a person, and Islam does not accept that a person should hit another person.
He pointed out that all the agreements that called for absolute equality come on the body of the family. These are the available and absolute rights of women or men or absolute equality. The family is the one who will pay the price for it. Islam and wise minds cannot neglect the family, otherwise the world will be ruined. and aim.
The Sheikh of Al-Azhar clarified that there are harsh conditions for the permissibility of beating, such as that the non-disobedient is absolutely forbidden to hit her no matter how far the dispute, because the one who hits the non-disobedient is transgressing the limits of God, and for the purpose of reform, please save the family, not with the aim of aggression, and do not hit with a stick or hit the face.