CAIRO: Minister of Family and Population Moshira Khattab filed a complaint to the Prosecutor General against a Gharbiya marriage registrar for allegedly marrying off underage children. Khattab is accusing the maazoun (marriage registrar), whose identity has not been disclosed, of certifying unions where one of the parties is under the legal marriage age of 18. Magda Barsoum, an official at the ministry, said that the ministry was tipped off about the matter through the family counseling hotline 16021. According to Barsoum, this maazoun "is notorious for conducting underage marriages in Gharbiya and surrounding governorates and villages. Khattab told the Middle East News Agency (MENA) that the maazoun is practicing a form of child trafficking that is punishable by law. According to Article 291 of the penal code, punishment for this crime includes a jail sentence of no less than five years and at minimum LE 200,000 fine. The recently-amended child law passed by the People's Assembly in June 2008 raised the minimum marriage age for females from 16 to 18. Thus a marriage contract cannot be registered officially unless the bride is 18 or above. Any violation of minimum age is punishable by imprisonment and a fine. The amendments to the law were drafted by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood which was then headed by Khattab. The article pertaining to the minimum age had triggered fierce debate and objection especially from the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in parliament.
