Fifty thousand Egyptians crowded under a vast,
quilted tent in Cairo's Republic Square one evening last week to hear
Premier Gamal Abdel Nasser proclaim his long-promised constitution.
This was the moment when Egypt was to pass from military dictatorship
to “republican and democratic government.” To mark the switch, Nasser
and his eight-man junta had resigned their army commissions. They took
their places on the platform wearing civilian clothes. “The true
revolution begins today,” orated Nasser. “The whole people will
constitute a supreme council for the revolution.” “Ascha Gamal!” , chorused the crowd.Down to the last page, Nasser's constitution resounded with promises of
rights and freedom—the right to work, the right to pensions, freedom
of press, speech, assembly, worship. Nasser and his experts had studied
many constitutions, but above all the American—and the words rang
resoundingly. But Nasser does not believe that Egypt is ready for such
rights and freedom: he fears to turn the country back to “the old
politicians” until his dedicated group has made more progress against
Egypt's immemorial poverty, disease, corruption. So on the last page,
Nasser's constitution has a dictatorial escape clause confirming as
law all the military junta's previous decrees—including those
restricting freedom. One of the last clauses said that for now, only
one party may exist—a National Union . Next June 23, the National Union is expected to offer as
sole candidate for a six-year presidential term the man all Cairo
newspapers now refer to as Mister Nasser.There seems no reason to doubt that both Mister Nasser and his
constitution suit Egyptians fine as of now. His coups in playing off
both West and East have fed his country's hungry pride. The new
constitution backs his latest bid for Arab-bloc leadership by
proclaiming Egypt “an integral part of the Arab nation,” which
ethnically it is not. It also declares that “Islam is the religion of
the State,” but gives no say to the Ulema as to how the
country shall be run.The week's loudest complaint against the constitution rose from Egypt's
leading feminist, Dr. Doria Shafik, who declared that it grants “women
no right whatsoever” and is a betrayal of written promises wrung from
the regime by her 1954 hunger strike.
