Egypt to issue law criminalizing child marriage by 2021

Egypt to issue law criminalizing child marriage by 2021

CAIRO – 30 November 2020: Egypt's government is planning on issuing a law criminalizing child marriage, as well as stiffening the penalty for girls' early marriage, to include everyone involved in the crime as the father or the girls' guardian.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli revealed this during a ministerial meeting, Monday as part of the government strategy and executive plan of the national project of family planning 2021-2023 which will be submitted to the president to be launched by 2021.

Attended at the meeting, International Cooperation Minister Rania Al-Mashat, Social Solidarity Minister Nevin Al Qabbaj, Health Minister Hala Zayed, Minister of State for Information Osama Heikal, Planning Minister Hala el Saeed, and President of the National Council for Woman Maya Morsy.

Madbouli pointed out that the meeting comes within the framework of the government's implementation of the national strategy to control population growth and deal with its negative consequences on the development march.

Saeed, for her part, reviewed the suggested plan which is based on five axes; achieving economic empowerment, digital transformation, service intervention, cultural intervention, legislative intervention and media and educational intervention.

Meanwhile, Director of the Demographic Center