How is today’s opposition demonstration in Tahrir connected to the new constitution drafting?

My friend just called me and warned me not to go anywhere near Tahrir this evening. The demonstration, opposing President Morsi’s last decree, starts to be big. Thanks to Sharif Kouddous you can see what the situation in Tahrir was while ago. There are expected more people to come.

It looks like the Morsi’s partly denunciation of his decree yesterday did not help.

Fortunately, the Muslim Brotherhood canceled its demonstration also called for today to avoid bloodshed.

The mood of people is a big dissatisfaction; they feel that democratic processes here in Egypt are vanishing.

I even heart in a TV political debate that President Morsi has two possibilities now: first to resign from the function and leave the country, second to take back his decree fully.

Only to remind you the decree gave President Morsi sweeping powers and placed his decisions beyond judicial review, further more prevents the courts to resolve the upper house of parliament and the constituent assembly which is drafting the new constitution. I think the constitution writing played a big role in the issuing of President Morsi’s decree.  I read a translation of a very good Nader Fergany’s article about the new constitution drafting and its shortcomings, which I want to share with you. Fergany points four shortcomings out, which you can read more about here. For me the most important is the fourth one:

“The fourth shortcoming, certainly not of lesser importance, but rather the most dangerous in terms of social justice, is the blatant intent to oppress women in Article 68, which stipulates the equality of men and women without prejudice to the provisions of Sharia law. Here there is an overemphasis on being able to prejudice equality – in comparison with Article 2 which stipulates the principles of Sharia law as the main source for legislation. The draft’s severity in using Sharia law as a restriction has reached its cruelest and crudest extent in restricting equality between men and women, whereby such equality is limited by the provisions of Islamic law and not just its principles. These provisions can be broadly interpreted by jurists and pave the way for reactionary and backwards interpretations whose example we can see in other countries that claim to govern by Islamic law. It is as if those who are writing the constitution are overcome by the desire to subjugate women – who are the sisters of men according to the hadith. Any constitutional draft that does not provide for total equity of girls and women after the historical injustice from which they suffered for decades, even centuries, cannot claim to be intent on achieving social justice.”

It does sound scary, right?

I do not know how this situation can be improved – especially after

“A number of liberal politicians withdrew on Sunday from the Islamist-dominated assembly drafting Egypt’s new constitution, saying they were not given the opportunity to discuss articles and their suggestions were being ignored.” – Tamim Elyan, Reuters 18 November 2012

Can today’s demonstration help to communicate the will of people?

How will the new constitution look?

I am not sure anybody can answer these questions at the moment.