New Egypt law to allow men to have sex with their dead wives?

In what is possibly one of the most bizarre (and not to mention distasteful) laws being contemplated to date, lawmakers in Egypt’s new parliament are reportedly considering making it legal for husbands to have “farewell” sex with their dead wives, up to six hours after their death. The law, supposedly known as the “Farewell intercourse” draft, has predictably generated a storm of outrage in Egypt, where it is being slammed for being outrageously demeaning to women. According to the Daily Mail,

The subject of a husband having sex with his dead wife arose in May 2011 when Moroccan cleric Zamzami Abdul Bari said marriage remains valid even after death. He also said that women have the right to have sex with her dead husband, alarabiya.net reported. It seems the topic, which has sparked outrage, has now been picked up on by Egypt’s politicians.

[caption id=“attachment_290476” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The law was reportedly sparked by a Mullah’s assertion that a marriage did not end after death: Reuters”]  [/caption] The report also quoted TV anchor Jaber al-Qarmouty as saying, ‘This is unbelievable. It is a catastrophe to give the husband such a right! Has the Islamic trend reached that far? Is there really a draft law in this regard? Are there people thinking in this manner?’ Egypt’s national council for Women has also slammed the law saying that it “marginalizes and undermines the status of women and would negatively affect the country’s human development.” And even as disturbing as this piece of news is, there’s more. According to the RT news network,

Along with the rather grim “farewell Intercourse” draft law, parliament is also set to approve legislation that would allow girls as young as 14 to get married. Lawmakers are also seeking to eliminate a reform implemented over a decade ago that allows women to end unhappy or abusive marriages without interference from their spouses.

In a new update however, the Christian Science Monitor has reported that the chances of Egyptian lawmakers actually passing the “farewell intercourse” law are ‘zero’ and that it is just a piece of inflammatory Internet gossip passed around by social media. Is that the case, or will Egyptian men’s carnal rights pass beyond this life and into the next? Only time will tell.