CAIRO -- Egyptian women worry that the new Islamist constitution
will allow judges to enforce abusive practices against women,
even approving marriages of girls as young as 9, and some are
organizing to protect their rights. "The constitutional process
was flawed from the start since the committee overseeing it was
mostly comprised of men who view women's role as either sex
objects or servants," says Nehad Abul Komsan, director of the
Egyptian Center for Women's Rights. The constitution, drafted by
members of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which won a majority
of seats in parliamentary elections, was approved by voters last
month in a national vote. Christians and liberals were given a
minority number of seats on the committee that drafted the
document, but they resigned in protest over the direction of the
draft. The constitution has a number of articles pertaining to
women; activists say they are crafted not to protect freedoms
but signal to judges that women are to be relegated to certain
roles. Abul Kom