The meaning of emancipation

By Fayza Hassan
Amendments to the Personal Status Law implemented in 1979, which increased women's rights in case of divorce, were repealed in the 1980s for reasons of unconstitutionality. Last year, the Ministry of Justice was instrumental in issuing several amendments to the law, hailed by researchers and activists as a step forward in the struggle for women's emancipation. But how does the general public feel? To find out, Al-Ahram Weekly polled over 1,500 citizens, asking them to comment on the new rules that will govern marital relationships as we enter the 21st century. The results of the poll are presented below.
Members of Al-Ahram Weekly staff spent a week at the Cairo and Giza railway stations asking travellers to reply to a questionnaire that touched on a variety of matters related to marriage, divorce, alimony and child support. Why the train station? That, reasons well-known statistician Nader Fergany of Al-Mishkaat Research Centre, who designed the poll and analysed the data collected, is where the largest possible cross-section of the population can be found at one time. As a centre of concentration and redistribution par excellence, the station is perhaps the only place the data collectors were likely to find people from so many different walks of life with enough time on their hands to think about the questions they were asked to consider. While the sample may not correspond to population statistics on the national level in every respect, an equal number of men and women over the age of 21 answered the questionnaire, from both urban and rural governorates. Of these, 14.53 per cent were illiterate, the rest covering the spectrum between primary school and post graduate education, with 39.66 per cent holding a four-year university degree. Interestingly, only 60.80 per cent were employed. Among the not employed, 44.10 per cent were housewives and 21.74 per cent were still students. The economic level of the sample was determined by car ownership and the estimated value of the car in question. Again, this indicator seemed fairly evocative, since 72.18 per cent did not own a car and 3.42 per cent owned a luxury car.
The main questions centred on Khul', interpreted by modern-day legislators as women's right, condoned by the Shari'a, to initiate and obtain a divorce without having to justify their request by citing legal grounds for divorce, provided they renounce their rights to financial compensation and return the dower paid by the husband upon the signing of the marriage contract. The reintroduction of this provision in the recent amendments of the Personal Status Law has been the object of heated controversy over the past year.
Other questions centred on the 'Isma (the provision, made at the time of marriage and included in the contract, that the wife may initiate divorce proceedings in court. This right is granted to the wife without prejudice to the man's right to divorce); 'Urfi marriage (a written contract concluded in front of two witnesses but not registered with the authorities); the right of Egyptian women married to non-Egyptian men to give their nationality to the children issued from such a marriage; a woman's right to apply for a passport and/or travel without her husband's consent; women's right to an education after marriage and their right to work outside the home.
The first part of the questionnaire was concerned with the degree of understanding that the sample had of the Personal Status Law. Explanations and clarifications were presented wherever necessary.
Opinions on Khul' were equally divided, 49.94 per cent agreeing to its introduction in the law and 49.52 disagreeing, with no gender distinction. A clear majority of 70.23 per cent thought it right that the wife should return all the presents and monies given to her by her husband if she chose to exercise this right. Half the sample -- 45.57 per cent -- thought that this form of divorce favoured women, while 20.95 per cent said it favoured both and 20.77 per cent said it favoured neither.
Reasons accepted as valid grounds for a woman to exercise the right of Khul' ranged from wife beating (66.37 per cent) to a man preventing his wife from pursuing her education (53.48 per cent). Only 15.47 per cent, however, agreed that a wife should ask for a divorce on the grounds that her husband refused to let her travel alone. In the same spirit, a staggering 90.09 per cent said that a wife should not travel without her husband's consent, while 74.94 per cent maintained that a wife should not even apply for a passport unless her husband agreed to let her do so.
The new marriage contract, which allows for both future spouses to stipulate conditions, which can later become acceptable grounds for divorce if violated, was also subjected to scrutiny. The results showed that 73.05 per cent of the sample, both men and women, did not believe that preventing a wife from working outside the home should be grounds for divorce and therefore should not be included in the list of preconditions. Wife-beating ranked the highest (55.32 per cent of responses) as a legitimate reason for a woman to file for divorce.
Granting a future wife the right to the 'Isma was opposed by 84.93 per cent; the 'Isma is generally perceived, by both genders, as a slight to a man's prestige.
Perhaps astonishingly, almost all the respondents (88.35 per cent) agreed that a divorced man who refuses to pay alimony and child support should be imprisoned, while 76.83 per cent agreed that if the husband is unable to make these payments the state should do so in his place. These results seem to indicate that, while both men and women tend to adopt opinions inimical to the principle of women's personal emancipation, questions related to concrete material considerations elicited a clear bias in favour of women, within the context of men's traditional responsibility for economic support.
As far as nationality is concerned, furthermore, 72.84 per cent agreed that an Egyptian woman married to a foreigner should be allowed to pass her nationality on to her children.
'Urfi marriage, which many perceive as motivated solely by economic reasons (many young men unable to afford the amount of money necessary for a "normal" marriage: a dwelling, a dowry and the cost of the wedding reception), was considered wrong by 93.71 per cent of the sample.
In general, men's and women's opinions did not conflict on any of the main issues.
Poll designed and analyzed by Almishkat Research Centre; Director Nader Fergany, with poll supervisors: Mohamed Hakem & Christiane Wissa
Al-Ahram Weekly poll coordinator: Hala Saqr
Supplement edited by Fayza Hassan;
Copy edited by Pascale Ghazaleh
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