The Women’s Domestic Violence Law: Win or lose?

On Monday, the Parliament’s committee agreed on a draft law aimed at protecting women from domestic violence.

It is expected to be referred to Parliament for a vote during its next session, which is scheduled for next Monday. This will be the parliament’s first meeting since extending its own mandate by 17 months at the end of May.

Activists and feminist groups have been in the forefront of the current protests against the extension of the parliament. Having said that, this draft law would be considered a trap in which those NGOs will fall once they acknowledge the parliamentary current status.

While some might consider this as a win for women’s rights, others still see this as a clear bait case.

Many modifications were amended to the draft law as opposed to what the original law stated, however, one of the most controversial issue, still remains unchanged: marital rape. It is still not classified as a crime, and remains a point of contention that is not yet recognized as sexual assault.

Activists have lobbied for the adoption of the draft law for the past three years, but ran into opposition from some lawmakers, particularly over matters pertaining to marital rape and religious courts.