Can new police force halt Egypt's rising divorce rates?
A number of parliamentarians have proposed creating a "family police" to address domestic disputes, yet some argue cash-strapped Cairo can't afford such a measure at this time.
CAIRO — A number of Egyptian members of parliament have proposed a draft law to create a so-called family police to deal with family issues and marital disputes and address the growing cases of divorce. This sparked a heated debate among parliamentarians and a number of specialists concerning the draft law’s significance and viability.
This special police department would look into domestic and family disputes in an attempt to prevent divorce cases. The bill includes the establishment of buildings that are independent from the police departments. The department will be separated from the detention and investigation cells where criminals and suspects are held so as not to have a negative psychological impact on young children or the entire family.
The idea started when the Justice and Equality Center, a nongovernmental organization, made a proposal to establish a family police to look into family-related problems such as domestic violence, issues with babysitters, the elderly, inheritance, addiction and mental illness, among other problems.
This proposal was endorsed by a number of parliamentarians, including Abdel Hamid Sheikh, a member of the Information and Communications Technology Committee, who stressed that once the center is done with preparation of the draft law, he will be working on collecting the signature of 60 members of parliament to be submitted to the Proposals and Complaints committee for deliberation and approval.
