

Briefing: What is at stake in Egypt's upcoming constitution?

Publisher Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
Publication Date 7 August 2012
Cite as Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Briefing: What is at stake in Egypt's upcoming constitution?, 7 August 2012, available at: [accessed 19 September 2014]
The drafting of Egypt's new constitution - like the rest of the country's politics since former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted from power last year - has been a hotbed of contention.



"We are in bad need for a constitution that recognizes the rights of all citizens, regardless of which religion they follow, where they live, or whether they are men, women or children," Gamal Zahran, a political science professor at Helwan University, told IRIN. "I have hopes that the members of the committee will overcome their ideological affiliations and put the interests of their country into account. Egypt stands to lose if its new constitution does not achieve social justice."


How will religion inform the new constitution?

Some members of the constitutional assembly have proposed making Islamic Sharia laws the only basis for legislation, unlike Article II of the 1971 constitution, applied in Mubarak's time, which speaks only of the "principles" of Sharia. Other Islamist members of the assembly have contemplated replacing the phrase "Supremacy is for the people" with "Supremacy is only for God". Liberals worry that if this latter statement is adopted, future opposition could be considered sacrilege, and rule of law would suffer.


"If Sharia laws are applied, Christians will not be considered first-rate citizens," Kamal Zakhir, a prominent Christian advocate, told IRIN. "We do not want to suffer even after the revolution, which should turn Egypt into a land for all its residents." He went so far as to warn that serious sectarian violence could occur if the new constitution does not recognize Christian rights.

Islamist members of the constitutional assembly, such as Salafist Yasser Borhami, say Christians have no reason to worry. "Throughout history, when Sharia law was applied, Christians led a dignified life," he told IRIN.

How will the role of the presidency change?


Mahmud Hanafi, a political science professor at Zagazig University says the new constitution should do away with most of these powers and leave the country's future presidents with powers that do not "turn them into other pharaohs." The committee has indicated that the new constitution will limit any president to two five-year terms.


What about the army?


"Everybody has respect for the army, but nobody will accept for this army to be part of Egypt's internal political life," said Khalid Saeed, a Salafist leader. "The army's job is to defend our country's borders, not to be a state within the state."

In the wake of the Islamists' post-revolution rise, the army wants the constitutional right to safeguard Egypt's secular system - a position many liberals and secularists support. The head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, Hussein Tantawi, has affirmed more than once that the army will not allow Egypt to turn into a theocracy.

Little attention to socio-economic rights


"[Given] their great urgency and importance, why have social and economic rights fallen into oblivion?" writes Amr Adly, director of the Social and Economic Justice Unit at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) in the Egyptian daily Al-Masri Al-Youm.

The current constitution makes no mention of the right to housing, for example, and has not been amended to include the new rights adopted in the last four decades, like the right to water, and land and environmental rights, Adly says. Nor does it provide a "clear mechanism" through which rights can be enforced by the state.

"Given the nature of the transition, little room has been left for any deep-cutting or radical social and economic changes," Adly says.

Are women being left out of the process?

After playing an equal role in the revolution, women walked away with eight of the 498 seats of the now-dissolved parliament. The new cabinet, sworn in on 2 August*, has two women ministers of a total of 35. The constitutional assembly has six female members.

"This shows that there is no real will to empower women or even make a constitution that gives them their rights," said Mona Ezzat, a women's rights activist from local NGO New Woman Institution. Women's rights activists want special articles in the new constitution giving them equal opportunities for work, political empowerment and more representation in parliament. They also want the constitution to ban gender discrimination, sexual harassment and physical violence.

Some worry that the post-revolution rise of political Islam will come at their expense. In last year's parliamentary elections, some Islamist parties refused to put photos of female candidates on posters. Salafist preachers later issued edicts barring women from raising their voices in parliament, saying it was against the teachings of Islam.

"This is the mentality of the people who will write our new constitution," Ezzat said. "If women are not recognized as full-fledged citizens in the new constitution, violators will get the green light to victimize them even more."

What are the prospects for civil society?


"NGOs can be the link between the government and the people because they are more equipped to reach people in all parts of this country," said Shady Amin, the executive director of local NGO Al Haq Centre for Democracy and Human Rights. "Instead of cracking down on NGOs, the government should think of how best it can benefit from these NGOs to make Egyptians' life better."


"I am afraid that the constitution will strangle rights organizations for the sake of charities," Amin said. "After all, charities do not criticize the government, but feed the hungry on its behalf."

How will children fare?

Deteriorating security conditions after the revolution gave rise to violence across Egypt, opening the way for the exploitation and abduction of children. Rising numbers of families, especially in the countryside, are also forcing their underage daughters into temporary marriages to wealthy Arab tourists, according to a recent report by the US State Department.


"This is necessary, particularly in the absence of state institutions that seriously advocate children's rights," said Mahmud Al Badawi, the head of local NGO Egyptian Society for the Assistance of Juveniles and Human Rights.

What do workers want?



"Workers' conditions are so bad that these workers cannot be left to be preyed upon by employers without constitutional protection," said Fatma Ramadan, a senior executive from the Egyptian Federation for Independent Trade Unions.

Ramadan points to "huge income disparities" among workers and employers' ability to fire workers without legal recourse for the latter.


*This article was amended on 9 August 2012. The original article erroneously reported that the new cabinet was sworn in on 2 July.

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