?Farewell Intercourse? Law in Egypt Would Legally Allow Husbands To Have Sex With Dead Wives

By Nadine DeNinno | April 26 2012 1:34 PM

A controversial new law, dubbed Farewell Intercourse, could possibly come into effect in Egypt which states that husbands will be legally allowed to have sex with their dead wives up to six hours after their death.

Reuters

A controversial new law, dubbed "Farewell Intercourse," could possibly come into effect in Egypt which states that husbands will be legally allowed to have sex with their dead wives up to six hours after their death. The "Farewell Intercourse" law is just one of many new laws being introduced to Egyptians by the Islamist-dominated parliament. Other laws include the legal marriage age lowered to 14-years-old and women's rights to education and employment abolished.

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According to The Daily Mail, the Farewell Intercourse law is just one of many new laws being introduced to Egyptians by the Islamist-dominated parliament. Other laws include the legal marriage age lowered to 14-years-old and women's rights to education and employment abolished.

But this isn't the first time Egyptians caught wind of the Farewell Intercourse law. The idea to introduce a law permitting Egyptian men to have sex with dead wives was first introduced in a Fatwa in May 2011 when Moroccan cleric Zamzami Abdul Bari declared marriage valid for widows after a spouse dies. According to The Al Arabiya News, the rule would also apply to women, Bari said, to make sex with a dead husband permissible, as well.

The set of laws has sparked much controversy, specifically within Egypt's National Council for Women, who has been campaigning against all of the laws that are marginalising and undermining the status of women would negatively affect the country's human development, as reported by The Daily Mail. Dr. Mervat al-Talawi, who is the head of the NCW appealed the law to the Egyptian People's Assembly Speaker, Dr. Saad al-Katatni on behalf of Egyptian women.

Egyptian journalist and television personality Jaber al-Qarmouty also chimed in as a critic against the controversial law.

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? he asked.

The shift in Egypt comes post-Mubarak with Islamists looking to overturn reforms and rights established in the Mubarak regime.