Parliament may consider castration for repeat sexual offenders

CAIRO – 14 April 2017: The Egyptian Parliament has postponed discussion of a draft law that would implement tougher penalties for sexual harassment, Parliamentarian Zeinab Salem told reporters Thursday in response to a question during a general session.

The new law was proposed primarily by Parliamentarian Suzy Rashid after the church bombings that hit Egypt on Palm Sunday, Youm7 reported.

Salem said the proposed law is one of the parliament’s top priorities, given the surge in numbers of sexual harassment across Egypt. Most recently was a heinous collective sexual assault of a college girl in Zagazig, the capital city of Sharqia, 60 km north of Cairo.

In exclusive statements to Youm7, Salem said she considers castration a viable option for repeat sexual offenders, saying," the situation became sickening and there's no real deterrent."

In March, at least six men were arrested for collective assault of a college girl in Zagazig. Police were alerted after dozens of men surrounded the girl and started to verbally harass her and touch her, forcing her to hide inside a café.

Sharqia MP Alaa Abdel Nabi denounced the incident and called for strict action by parliament to confront this kind of “full-fledged crime,”

Youm7

reported.

A 2013 study by the United Nations revealed that 99.4 of Egyptian women have experienced sexual harassment.