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In an emotional account posted to Instagram on Friday, the woman denounced the lack of support for marital rape victims from the law and some clerics and called for legal change.
An account of marital rape by the ex-wife of an Egyptian celebrity has once again brought the controversial subject of sexual assault to the fore.
In an emotional account posted to Instagram on Friday, the woman said her famous ex-husband raped her during their marriage. She denounced the lack of support for victims of marital rape and called for changes in the law.
Her ex-husband vehemently denied the charges the next day via his own social media accounts.
Worldwide, marital rape is often treated as an exemption, where rape is illegal but all sex within marriage is considered by law as a marital right.
Only 42 percent of countries have criminalized marital rape, according to the United Nations.
Women’s rights advocates say the problem is simply a matter of bodily autonomy, overlapping with acts such as female genital mutilation (FGM).
We need to link domestic violence, marital rape and female genital mutilation to sexual violence on the streets and clearly call them all crimes against women. And just as we stood beside men to overthrow Mubarak, we need men by our side now. #Egypt
Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) September 1, 2020
The subject is deeply controversial in Egypt, recently called into question by the Ramadan soap opera Newtons Cradle, in which a woman is raped by her husband as she tries to divorce. The show catalyzed the online discussion of activists, clerics and psychologists.
Opinions on martial rape differ among Islamic scholars, who hold great unofficial authority in the Muslim world, including Egypt.
A professor from Al-Azhar, the world’s most prestigious university for Islamic studies based in Cairo, has said that sexual relations in marriage without consent go against the Qur’an.
Other academics have dismissed the term as an import from the West – a rejection often made by Egyptian conservatives on women’s rights issues.
Egypt had its own #MeToo moment with women sharing their stories of sexual assault, harassment and rape, including marital rape.
The woman who laid the charges on Friday expressed hope that things would change if more women exposed the sexual abuse.
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