Alleged attempt by the Egyptian People’s Assembly, EPA,  to enact a law which will make it possible for husbands to have sex with their dead wives for up to six hours after their death has sparked an uproar in the country with female activists describing the idea as undermining the status of women.

Known as ‘’farewell intercourse law,’’ it would also lower the minimum age of marriage for women to 14, and rid women’s rights of getting education and employment, according to the local media.

The controversial new law is claimed to be part of a raft of measures being introduced by the Islamist-dominated parliament.

Egypt’s National Council for Women, NCW,  is reportedly campaigning against the changes, pointing out  that ‘’marginalising and undermining the status of women would negatively affect the country’s human development.’’

The Egyptian al-Ahram newspaper quoted the Head of the NCW, Dr Mervat al-Talawi, as stating in her  letter to the EPA’s Speaker, Dr Saad al-Katatni, that the proposed new law had negative ‘’religious interpretations.’’

The subject of a husband having sex with his dead wife reportedly arose in May 2011, when a Moroccan cleric, Zamzami Abdul Bari said marriage remains valid even after death, adding that women have the right to have sex with their dead husbands.

TV anchor Jaber al-Qarmouty slammed the notion of letting a husband have sex with his wife after her death under the so-called ‘Farewell Intercourse’ draft law.