MP Abla al-Hawari said on Sunday that she is drafting a new bill to be discussed soon in Parliament that will regulate couples' engagements by limiting the engagement period to one year and imposing fines on couples who break off their engagements. “I’m currently finishing off the articles of the law and will start collecting members’ signatures during the first sessions in Ramadan. She added that placing a one-year ceiling on the engagement period is to protect women who may have an engagement broken off after "lengthy relationships." Both families usually sit together to discuss the amount of money paid for the shabka and to determine how many pieces it should comprise. With this law, women are protected and families would have a clear idea what to do in case the engagement is put off,” Hawari said.

Source: Egypt Independent May 14, 2017 14:48 UTC