Custody disputes raise questions like, "Is it better for a child to live with the mother or father?" and "What does the child prefer?" Legally, at least, some of these issues were settled by parliament last week, reports Reem Leila A change in the way child custody disputes are dealt with was catalysed by parliament's approval, last week, of a law extending the amount of time children would remain with their mothers, and acknowledging the child's opinion in determining guardianship. Under the amended law, Article 20 of 1929's Law 25, children of divorced parents will now remain in their mother's custody until age 15. Previously, the law stipulated that boys remain with their mothers until the age of 10 (or, extended by a judge, until 15), at which point custody was automatically transferred to the father. Girls would remain with their mothers until they were 12 (or, extended by a judge, until marriage). Remarrying on the mother's part meant custody could shift to another family member. The Islamic Research Centre's (IRC) approval of the law was a prerequisite for its presentation to the People's Assembly for ratification. MP and IRC member Abdel-Mo'ti Bayoumi told Al- Ahram Weekly that the law was unanimously approved by the IRC, as it does not contradict the regulations of Islamic shariaa (jurisprudence). "The new law takes children's welfare into consideration," Bayoumi said. The new law also met with Mufti Ali Gomaa's approval. Gomaa, who attended the assembly's legislative committee session, said that it was permissible for a child to remain in a mother's custody as long as he or she needs someone to provide for their basic needs. "This custody period ends whenever the child can be independent, regardless of a specific age. However, currently, it is recognised that children need their mothers, not only for physical, but also for psychological care," Gomaa said. This care "can only be achieved if the child stays with the mother for the longest possible period. The age suggested by the law achieves these needs." MP Zeinab Radwan, who initiated the drive to amend Article 20, said children's needs today are very different than they were in the past. At 10 or 12, a child is still too young to be taken from their mother, she said. They have not even finished their primary education. By 15, they are more grown up. But even then, rather than automatically transferring custody to the father, as the current law does, the new law mandates that children be asked first by a judge about their preference. "At that age, a child will able to choose whom he or she prefers to live with," Radwan said. The judge, as stipulated by an item added by Justice Minister Mahmoud Abul- Leil, can also choose to extend custody for boys until 21, and girls until marriage. Riyad Shahine, a divorced man with a 10- year-old daughter, called the new law "a major defeat for men". He said that in most cases children would definitely opt to stay in the surroundings that have become most familiar to them; i.e. with the mother. "Everything now is done for the sake of women, but what will a man like me do if his divorcee refuses to let him see his child regularly, which most do. I myself suffer from this problem," Shahine said. Lawyer Maged El-Sherbini said it was mothers and children, rather than fathers, who were suffering most. "A lot of fathers file custody cases merely as a way of getting back at the mothers. The new law will solve problems like these, since at the age of 15, children will get an independent legal identity and choose to stay with the mother, father, relatives, neighbours, or even alone. Legally, no one can force them to stay anywhere." The new law will not be applied retrospectively, but will be valid for all custody cases that have not yet been ruled on. Removing children from familiar surroundings could cause psychological problems, said Cairo University psychology professor Said Abdel-Azim. "Although the best solution is to avoid these kinds of situations, 15 is appropriate for children to decide by themselves whether they want to change or not. The chance of psychological harm lessens at this older age," he said.
