Page 27 - Issue-30-En

ELITE Vol.1, Issue 30, April 2021 Happy

Ramadan

The Maadi incident opens the door to a

much-needed conversation

Habiba Tarek, 3rd Level, Political Science

On the 9th of march of this year, leaked footage from a Despite the progress achieved thus far, this case is but a
surveillance camera took the internet by storm, and droplet in a sea of unreported or inconclusive cases.
sparked online and offline rage amongst most However, it does allow us to broaden the horizon of our
Egyptians. The video in question portrayed a middle conservation. Let’s break this down, shall we?
aged man luring a child into a building located in the
Maadi neighborhood, where he proceeded to sexually The first misconception I was able to pinpoint while
molest the girl. His crime was interrupted by a lady who following the news was our faulty perception of who a
spotted him through the security footage of the ‘child’ really is. The first image that comes to mind is
laboratory she works at and confronted him immediately probably that of a kindergartner, or a first grader at most.
despite his attempts to play it off and deny all While that example does fit the description of a child, it’s
accusations. This lady’s stance was later on praised by not the sole example. A minor is anyone below legal age
Dr. Maya Morsy, head of the National Council for
Women, who stated that it is thanks to the brave and - by default, a minor is a child. Does this mean that a 22
rapid reflex of the lady that the man can now be held year old harassing a 17 year old is predatory? By all
accountable for his crimes and that his victims can begin means, yes. What if that same 17 year old is
the long process of healing. The video circulated online, “voluntarily” involved in a relationship with an older
and many activists and social media users rushed to person? The simple answer is that there is no such thing
share still pictures of the pedophile in order to help as a voluntary relationship between a minor and an adult
identify him and bring him to justice. Shortly after, the — a minor cannot legally consent. That behavior is thus
man was arrested by security forces and the Public defined as grooming. The confusion that a lot of people
Prosecution Office began its investigation. According to express at the mention of similar terminology is likely
the Egyptian penalty code, the penalty for those due to a gap that exists in our penal code. As I mentioned
convicted with the sexual assault of minors below the above, the (maximum) penalty of seven years of prison is
age of twelve is seven years of jail time. In addition to only for those who assault a child under the age of
that, a member of parliament named Ayman Abul-Ela twelve; but what of children above the age of twelve?
presented a draft amendment to the House of How do we view them? And where do their rights go?
Representatives which entails more restrictive penalties
towards child molesters in Egypt.
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