Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The disappearance of minor Christian girls continues. More and more of these types of stories are circulating, characterized only by the differences in personalities and places.

The most recent story is quite unfamiliar since the 15 year-old Christian girl in question, Marian Kamāl Labīb, did not run away to marry the man she loves but, according to the security story, [Reviewer: the police] she ran away to give birth.

It was said that Labīb, who disappeared three weeks ago, had an affair with a 27 year-old Muslim, Tāmir Muṣṭafá Ibrāhīm, from her village al-Sanatah in the Gharbīyah governorate city of Ṭanṭā.

Kamāl Labīb, the girl’s father, was shocked when he went to al-Sanatah police station to file a record about his daughter’s disappearance and was informed that his underage daughter is in an ‘Urfī marriage to Ibrāhīm and that she gave birth the day after her disappearance. According to police officers, the girl stated when she was subpoenaed for the investigation that she left home on her own free will and wanted to convert to Islam because of her love for her husband.

Officers promised Labīb that they would meet with the girl, but did not immediately follow through, prompting some Christian youth to stage a sit in at the front of the police station demanding the girl’s return. Bishop Bula of al-Gharbīyah and Father Philemon Ghubrial intervened and succeeded in calming down and dispersing the crowd.

Kamāl Labīb said that the Tantā prosecutors showed him the girl’s marriage contract, a contract he notes did not bear any witnesses’ signatures. He questions the way prosecutors closed the case, approving a marriage contract involving a minor girl who signed without the presence of any witnesses.

Labīb’s lawyer, Ramsis al-Najjār, said that he demanded a reopening of the investigation, as well as Ibrāhīm’s referral to criminal court for raping a minor female by fraud. He said that the prosecution closed the case despite the fact that the state does not recognize ‘Urfī marriage contracts written without witnesses’ signatures and without a guardian’s approval.

Member of the National Council for Human Rights, Ḥāfiz Abu Si‘dah, argued that the girl’s marriage contract is null and void. He explained that, legally, a female under 16 years of age can not marry by herself, and furthermore that, according to Sharī‘ah, she can not execute a marriage contract as long as she is a virgin.

Abu Si‘dah believes that security forces should not address these issues. Rather, he states that these problems should be left to civil society organizations since intervention by security forces usually complicates the situation and creates more problems.