A controversial decision by human rights organisation Amnesty International to vote in favour of decriminalising sex work has attracted criticism from across Egyptian society. As well as endorsing decriminalisation, the vote calls for states to “ensure that sex workers enjoy full and equal legal protection from exploitation, trafficking and violence.” Egypt’s National Council For Women, which considers itself “experts in women’s affairs and social work,” has declared the decision to be an affront to “public morality and human dignity.” The head of the National Council for Women, Mervat el-Tallawi said in a statement that “the vote violates women’s rights and turns women into a sex commodity.” The decision was also condemned by the foremost Islamic authority in Egypt al-Azhar, who described the decision as a “frantic satanic attempt to demolish morals and values,” calling prostitution a practice that is “inconsistent with human nature, and that it enslaves human beings and trades their bodies.” According to Amnesty International, the group’s support for the “full decriminalisation of all aspects of consensual sex work,” is the best way to defend the rights of sex workers, and to protect them from often harsh treatment…
Amnesty’s Call to Decriminalise Sex Work Condemned by Egypt’s Women’s Council
August 13, 2015
