Meanwhile, Dr. Nūr Farahāt, a professor of law at the al-Zaqāzīq University, said the challenge facing the new constitution is the avoidance of undermining public and personal freedoms and the activation of the relevant content in the 1954 and 1971 constitutions.

Farahāt made the remarks during a conference on public freedoms in relation to the constitution, organized by the intercultural dialogue forum at the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS).

The recent draft laws raised recently at the People’s Assembly – some of them have been withdrawn – pose a threat to the society as they damage public freedoms and Egyptians’ dignity, including the drafts allowing marriage of young girls at childhood age and prevention of women’s traveling abroad without a mahram (male guardian), said Farahāt. [‘Abd al-Majīd al-Shawādfī, al-Ahrām, May 12, p. 7] Read original text in Arabic