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Egypt's first female marriage registrar starts work despite complaints it is against Islam

Arab World Materials 26 October 2008 02:47 (UTC +04:00)

Egypt's official news agency says the country's first female marriage registrar has started work despite complaints by some conservative clerics that the move is against Islam, the Associated Press reported.

MENA reports that during her first day on the job, Amal Suleiman Afifi married a couple in a mosque in the Delta town of Zaqaziq - some 75 kilometers ( 45 miles) north of Cairo.

The report says the couple moved up their wedding ceremony, attended by hundreds of people, so they could be married by the 34-year-old Muslim woman Saturday.

Many conservative clerics believe Islamic law, or Sharia, prohibits a woman from becoming a registrar because it states the testimony of two women is equivalent to one man in court. Therefore they believe a marriage contract signed by a woman would be illegal.

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