CAIRO: As Egypt takes large steps towards the referendum on the new controversial constitution, Egyptian Coptic Christians are showing unity in refusing to boycott the constitution and have called on Egyptians, Muslims and Copts, to vote “no” as voting begins on Saturday. The Egyptian Union for Human Rights announced the participation of Coptic activists and influential thinkers in voting “no” and encouraged others to campaign for shooting down the draft. This is a similar statement to that of the Middle East Christian Association, who also called on all Egyptians to delivered a unified no. “Say no to everyone who wrote a letter in that faulty constitution, which lost the rights of women and children and will turn Egypt into a sectarian playground,” said the statement. “Say no to the constitution, say no to the rule of the supreme council and Khairat al-Shater,” it added. Egyptian Coptic unity is a step forward towards rejecting a “faulty” draft and creating a harmonious one that represents all Egyptians, with all their differences and views, and many are starting to feel the need to cast their votes as an active action against what many are predicting to be the political Islamic domination of Egypt and its institutions. While most Egyptians understand the dangers resulting in passing the constitution, others remain firm on the illegitimacy of the draft. The National Salvation Front, of which Mohammed ElBaradei is a leading member, has also joined in calling on people to vote “no” in what they hope can combat the rising Islamist forces in the country, who were responsible for the drafting of the constitution. Meanwhile, political Islamic powers continue to campaign and introduce new voters by encouraging and assisting women from remote areas in issuing national ID cards, hoping to create more voters in support of their constitution. Several women groups in Egypt have rejected the constitutional draft and have dubbed it “disastrous.” It pushes women back at least a hundred years and puts critical issues into vague statements. The constitution does not put a minimum age for marriage, ignores restrict child labor laws and does not ensure freedom of religion. The local feminist organization, Baheya Ya Masr, has said that by pushing the constitution forward without widespread national consensus is a threat to women in the country. The group said they feared that the constitution would pave the way for “political Islam," which they argued would leave out most basic principles of democracy and transparency. The group said in a statement published on Tuesday that they have observed through reading the draft that it will leave women on the outside of their basic rights. The group said that the draft constitution includes some “ticking bombs" for women and children, slamming articles 2, 4, 219 which maintain that Islamic law as the main source of legislation and grants Al-Azhar the power of jurisdiction. They are not the only women's group that has spoken out against the constitution. 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. Moderates and secular in Egypt have expressed rage towards the draft and its committee, whose liberal, Christian and female members quit one after the other, saying their opinions were not heard by the Islamic majority and flexibility was absent from any dialogue. Ordinary Egyptians came out in droves last week voicing their refusal of the draft and how the Muslim Brotherhood are hijacking the country. Armed MB supporters clashed with protesters last Wednesday outside the presidential palace, leaving 11 dead, including al-Fagr journalist Al-Husseini Abou Deif, who was shot in the head while covering the clashes. Full unity towards rejecting the constitution might appear to be a dream at this point, but if even half the 25 million Reuters reported to have taken part in demonstrations last Tuesday, vote no, Egypt can be steered back towards the right path of a free country that respects its people rights and needs.
