Reproductive rights of Egyptian women: Issues for debate

Because the definitions of reproductive health and reproductive rights are so broad, it has been possible in Egypt and elsewhere for one or other issu e on the reproductive health agenda to be prioritised So the detriment or e xclusion of others, and a comprehensive approach avoided. Reproductive heal th and rights language was introduced in Egypt around the time of the Inter national Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994. From th e moment these concepts were translated into Arabic, activists, scholars an d women themselves discussed and debated their meanings and questioned whet her Egyptian culture permitted a rights approach of this kind and whether r eproductive rights were actually perceived as such by Egyptian women. This paper discusses the language of reproductive rights in relation to cultural specificity in the Egyptian context, Egyptian women's perceptions of repro ductive rights, the role of tradition and religion, and the ways in which r eproductive rights are taken up under Egyptian law It analyses some of the arguments used against reproductive rights on these grounds.