Egypt's Brotherhood slams proposed UN declaration on 'women's rights'
Muslim Brotherhood says UN document – which among other things calls for
equal rights for homosexuals – violates Islamic tenets and aims to destroy
traditional family values
Ahram Online , Wednesday 13 Mar 2013
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/66794/Egypt/Politics-/-Egypts-Brotherhood-slams-proposed-UN-declaration-.aspx

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement on Wednesday denouncing a
yet-to-be-ratified UN declaration on women’s rights, asserting that the
document contradicts Islamic Law.

Entitled 'End Violence against Women,' the declaration is currently being
discussed as part of the 57th session of the UN Commission on the Status of
Women, taking place from 4 to 15 March at UN headquarters in New York City.

"This is a misleading title," the Brotherhood said of the document in a
statement on its official Facebook page. "The document includes articles
that contradict the principles of Islam... and aim to destroy the family."

According to the Brotherhood, the UN document represents "a final step
towards achieving the intellectual and cultural invasion" of Islamic
society.

The three articles that the Islamist group deems most objectionable are
those granting women the "freedom of choice" to decide the gender of their
partners; the provision of teenagers with contraception; and the provision
of equal rights for homosexuals and the legal protection of prostitutes.

The Islamist group also objects to articles calling for equality between men
and women in terms of inheritance; women's right to file legal complaints
against husbands in the case of rape; and equality in marital life between
men and women.

"The Muslim Brotherhood urges the leaders of Islamic countries and their UN
representatives to reject and condemn this document," the group asserted,
adding that it would also call on Egypt's Al-Azhar religious institution to
express opposition to the UN declaration.

Discomfort with the document has also been voiced in Libya. On Tuesday, the
country's Dar Al-Ifta – the official body tasked with issuing religious
edicts, or fatwas – called on Muslim women to organise demonstrations
against the UN declaration, which it accuses of "aiming to destroy the
family and promote moral decadence."