2006年VOA标准英语-High-Profile Paternity Case Highlights Ris

Marriage in Egypt
By Lindsay Wise
Cairo, Egypt
07 June 2006

Hind¹ El Hinnawy scandalized Egyptian society by dragging a famous actor to court to prove he was the father of her baby. Now, after finally winning her case on appeal, she hopes her willingness to take a public stand and fight for the rights of her daughter will encourage other women to press forward with paternity cases for thousands of illegitimate children who have no legal rights under Egyptian law.

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Egyptian single mother Hind el-Hinnawy  
  

Hind El Hinnawy was working as a costume designer on the set of a television sitcom² when she met Ahmed El Fishawy, a handsome young actor from a famous family of Egyptian movie stars. The attraction was immediate³ and mutual⁴, El Hinnawy says, and within months the two decided⁵ to marry in secret.

"We were happy until I got pregnant and when I told him, he didn't like it," Hinnawy says. "He didn't want to be a daddy, he wasn't prepared to be a daddy. And at that time he said anyway he should register our marriage and he took the paper from me and then he disappeared."

Without any proof of marriage, El Hinnawy faced the stigma⁶ of unwed motherhood and the prospect⁷ of illegitimacy for her unborn child. In conservative Egyptian society, where sexual relations outside of traditional marriage are considered taboo⁸, women in El Hinnawy's situation often resort to abortion⁹ and silence. Some are even disowned, or physically¹⁰ attacked by their own family members.

But not only did El Hinnawy decide to have her baby, she also went public with her fight by defending herself in the media, and suing El Fishawy to force him to acknowledge their daughter Leena. Although Fishawy and his family now refuse to speak with the media, he has previously¹¹ admitted to having a sexual relationship with El Hinnawy, though he denied being married to her or fathering Leena.

Under Egyptian law, tens of thousands of children like Leena do not officially exist because they do not carry their fathers' names. They cannot be issued birth certificates, passports, or receive vaccinations¹². Considered illegitimate, such children are often discriminated¹³ against, and have trouble registering for school and marrying. El Hinnawy says it was her determination not to let this happen to her daughter that made her press on, even when El Fishawy refused to take a DNA¹⁴ test, and the case against him was dismissed. 

El Hinnawy admits she was discouraged by the verdict. But the petite 28-year-old mother was not ready to give up. She appealed, and late last month the judge ruled in her favor, forcing El Fishawy to recognize both his relationship with El Hinnawy and his paternity of Leena, who is now 19 months old. El Hinnawy was so moved by the ruling that she burst into tears in the courtroom.

"I almost fainted and the lawyer came and took me in her hands, in her arms, and she told me, "Hey, you won the case, stand up! Stand up, try to talk, all the media are around you," Hinnawy says. "And I cried for long, and you know, cameras were in front of me and I was just crying, I wasn't even talking and I was just saying, "I got your rights, my baby! I got your rights, my baby!"

El Hinnawy's legal fight may now be over, but Egyptian tabloids¹⁵ and talk shows remain obsessed¹⁶ with the case. On a recent episode of the popular TV program, The Hala Show, a panel of religious experts and writers sparred over whether the offspring of Hinnawy's and Fishawy's secret relationship can be recognized by Islamic law, which requires a marriage be public knowledge for it to be legal.

This debate over so-called "urfi" or "customary, common law" marriage is an important one in Egypt. Of 14,000 paternity cases pending¹⁷ in Egyptian courts, at least 9,000 of them are the result of "urfi" marriages like Hinnawy's. Such unions are hidden from friends and family and not registered with authorities. They are becoming increasingly common among young Egyptians who cannot afford the rising costs of marriage or who want to legitimize sexual relations without committing to traditional matrimony.

Sociologist¹⁸ Madiha El Safty says El Hinnawy's case has shed much-needed light on the phenomenon of "urfi" marriage and the plight¹⁹ of illegitimate children in Egypt, but the long-term impact on society remains²⁰ uncertain.

"I can say it's almost the first time that something like that is brought into the open," Safty says. "Definitely people have been talking about it everywhere, social gatherings²¹ and everywhere, but my point, my question actually is, will it help other women to follow the same trend or the same way that she's done, or will it not? I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."

For now, all of Egypt seems to be buzzing with the case.  At a café in downtown Cairo, 26-year-old Raheb Salwa and her girlfriends debated the Hinnawy case over cappuccinos. They agree Hinnawy's relationship with Fishawy was probably a sin, but they admire her for fighting for her daughter's rights.

"Society often lets men get away with such relationships, while women take most of the blame," Salwa says. "This is wrong, because God judges both men and women the same, she argues."

El Hinnawy has become so famous that she is often stopped on the street and scolded or praised by perfect strangers. She puts up with it, taking comfort in knowing her experience has inspired a draft law that would make DNA tests mandatory²² in paternity cases.

Laws may prove easier to change than taboos²³, but in the meantime, El Hinnawy hopes that her high-profile case will inspire thousands of other Egyptian mothers to fight for the rights of their own children.

1 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

2 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

7 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

8 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

9 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

10 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

14 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

15 tabloids   

n.小报，通俗小报（版面通常比大报小一半，文章短，图片多，经常报道名人佚事）( tabloid的名词复数 )；药片

参考例句：

• The story was on the front pages of all the tabloids. 所有小报都在头版报道了这件事。
• The story made the front page in all the tabloids. 这件事成了所有小报的头版新闻。

16 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

17 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

18 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

19 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

20 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

21 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

22 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

23 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。