CAIRO: Leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has once again lashed out at the government, this time on a controversial draft constitution that is to go to a public referendum on December 15. The Nobel Laureate and member of the National Salvation Front (NSF) on Sunday morning that a constitution that removes the rights and freedoms of Egyptians will fall. “We broke the fear barrier: a constitution that eliminates our rights and freedoms is a constitution we will topple today before tomorrow … our strength is in our determination,” the head of the Constitution Party posted on Twitter. A referendum on a draft constitution written by an Islamist-dominated assembly will take place on Saturday, despite calls from opposition forces to postpone it. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi announced shortly after midnight that the controversial presidential decree that gave him power above judicial review had been revoked. However, the new decree put in its place will ensure that the constitutional referendum on an equally controversial draft constitution will go forward as scheduled on December 15. Activists have already stated that this is giving very little. However, others say it is a sign that Morsi is willing to compromise. But in many ways, the revoking of the decree also means that there will be little time for the country's top court to rule on the legality of the constituent assembly tasked with drafting the constitution. A sit-in still remains in front of the top court by Muslim Brotherhood supporters. It remains to be seen how this will affect the current political impasse currently facing Egypt. The constitution is now the top issue of contention in Egypt and numerous groups, especially women's rights organizations have condemned the document, saying it is an attack on women and their rights. The Egyptian Association for the Assistance of Juveniles and Human Rights added that Article 70 also does not prohibit child trafficking and sexual exploitation. The NGO decried the assembly's failure to specify the age of children in the charter, particularly when Egypt was one of the first signatories of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which clearly declares anyone below the age of 18 as a minor. The minimum age for marriage set by the Personal Status Code in 2008 was 18, which is not the case under the new constitution. According to Amnesty International, Egypt's draft constitution does not shield minors from early marriage and permits child labor. Ultra-conservative Salafists – Islamic puritans – have been calling for the marriage age to be reduced, and under the new constitution, it could very well see the gross exploitation of the country's young girls. That is just one of the many clauses in the constitution, or not in the document, that activists have repeatedly told Bikyamasr.com that they are worried will push the country on a slippery slope toward Islamist rule.
