CAIRO: A total of 9,301 cases of underage marriage were found in Egypt, according to Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud.
Around 4,100 of these cases were found in Cairo, Mahmoud said at a conference Wednesday titled “Combating Underage Marriage as a Form of Child Trafficking.
Mansoura ranks second after Cairo with 3,382 cases, followed by Tanta where 834 cases were reported, he added.
Minister of Family and Population Moshira Khattab explained that unions officiated where the bride is under the age of 18 are a form of child trafficking punishable by a minimum five-year jail sentence and a fine of at least LE 200,000.
Last October, Khattab filed a complaint to the persecutor general against a maazoun (marriage registrar) in the governorate of Gharbeya for allegedly officiating underage marriages.
The ministry receives numerous reports of underage marriages on its family counseling hotline, 16021, according to Magda Barousm, a ministry official.
“Apparently there are maazouns who are notorious for conducting these underage marriages in governorates and villages, she noted.
Under the new child law, which was approved by the People’s Assembly in June 2008, Article 7 raises the minimum marriage age for females from 16 to 18.
At the time, controversy loomed over raising the minimum marriage age, namely by the Muslim Brotherhood bloc who strongly opposed the article.
“The Brotherhood bloc disapproves of the new child law; it contradicts our traditions, our culture and our religion. It has been imposed from others on us from abroad, said Mohamed El-Beltagy, member of the bloc, at the time.
