The most shocking news of the day comes out of Egypt. Proposals that would permit Egyptian husbands to have intercourse with their dead wives for up to six hours following their death have been labeled as complete nonsense. The law, which has been dubbed ‘farewell intercourse,’ is supposed to be part of a group of laws introduced by the country’s parliament, which is dominated by Islamists. It was also reported that the minimum age for marriage would be lowered to 14 while also getting rid of women’s rights for education and employment.
Multiple sources from within the Egyptian Embassy in London said that the reports were ‘completely false,’ ‘could never imagine it happening,’ and ‘forbidden in Islam.’ The source also claimed that if the proposal existed for the new laws, it did not hit the parliament yet while admitting that the proposal could be the work of an extremist politician.
The initial report came when it was said that Egypt’s National Council for Women decided to campaign against the new laws. The group reportedly said that ‘marginalising and undermining the status of women would negatively affect the country’s human development’.
In May of 2011, the issue of a husband having sex with his dead wife came to the forefront because a Moroccan cleric named Zamzami Abdul Bari said that marriage is valid even after death. Abdul Bari even said that women have the legal right to have intercourse with their deceased husband.
Jaber al-Qarmouty, a television anchor, denounced the idea of letting spouses have sex with their dead spouses immediately following death.
‘This is very serious. Could the panel that will draft the Egyptian constitution possibly discuss such issues? Did Abdul Samea see by his own eyes the text of the message sent by Talawi to Katatni? This is unbelievable. It is a catastrophe to give the husband such a right! Has the Islamic trend reached that far? Is there really a draft law in this regard? Are there people thinking in this manner?’